Factual error: When Jenny Hayden and Starman accidentally overshoot their destination and arrive in Las Vegas, Jenny discovers that her wallet is missing. She has no cash, no credit cards, and no identification whatsoever. The only money she has is a single quarter. Starman uses the quarter to hit the jackpot on a 25-cent slot machine, then uses the prize money to play the Horseshoe $500,000 slot machine, which he also wins. They then use the giant jackpot money to purchase a brand new Cadillac and drive it off the lot. Huge problem: In 1984 (and today), you could never collect a giant Las Vegas jackpot without several pieces of personal identification, for tax purposes. Likewise, you could never purchase and drive a brand new Cadillac off the lot without multiple pieces of identification and a financial disclosure statement (if paying cash).
Factual error: Right after The Kid's father shoots himself, The Kid is seen in the basement being interviewed by two police officers in uniform and one detective. One of the police officers is asking the questions while the detective is writing in his notepad. Standard procedure is for a "Lead Detective" to be assigned to the case and he conducts all interviews. (01:18:49)
Factual error: When Ariel is playing a tape in her boyfriend's boombox in the parking lot of the diner, when her dad comes over he pushes a button once and the tape ejects. However, on this type of boombox, the stop and eject button are the same button. So in order to eject the tape, he would have had to push the button twice.
Factual error: While on the beach, you can see many women running around topless (including the daughters) - which isn't allowed on public beaches in Rio. (00:18:31 - 00:21:00)
Factual error: When the TV store is closing at Bloomingdale's, The Richard Simmons Show is shown on the monitors. In 1984, when the film is set, this show was broadcast only in the morning and was not released in syndication. The show would therefore not have been playing on a television channel in New York City in the late evening.
Factual error: Throughout the entire movie, the SBD Dauntlesses they are working on have the national insignia with the red ball in the center. This was discontinued in May 1942.
Factual error: In the scene where the convoy is on the way to the Eldridge, the trucks used are M35 deuce and a half dating from 1949, the jeeps used are M151 mutt dating from 1959 (horizontal grills) . (00:05:55)
Factual error: None of the "Colombians" speaks with a Colombian accent or uses Colombian slang.