Elden Henson played two parts in this film, one being Samson, the other as young Steve Mills. The flashbacks are from a 1990 short film of the same name and Elden played the role of Steve as a 12 year old boy.
The flashback scenes are taken from the short film Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (1990).
The 7 men in the support group seem to represent the 7 stages of grief: 1. DISBELIEF & SHOCK Frank 2. DENIAL Matthew 3. GUILT & PAIN Blake 4. BARGAINING Kip 5. ANGER Gabe 6. DEPRESSION Cameron 7. ACCEPTANCE Rafael
At one point while Randall (Donnie Wahlberg) is warming up obnoxiously, Evrin (the elderly man) turns to Frank and says Randall thinks he's Lord of the Dance but isn't even Irish. The Wahlbergs are actually prominently of Irish decent.
Sean Astin and Michael Bower also appeared in the comedy/horror anthology film, The Willie's (1990).