Factual error: The helicopter shown in the film (N801JB) was manufactured in 1979, 8-9 years after the film was set.
Continuity mistake: His lazy eye is not consistently on his left or the right. It switches from scene to scene. Even though in the end he says it's his right eye people should always look at.
Factual error: When Angus and Mr. Hunham go to the liquor store, the sign on the door shows that they are open on Sundays. In 1970, Massachusetts still had blue laws in effect, and a liquor store would not have been open on a Sunday.
Continuity mistake: When Angus and Mr. Hunham are at the bowling alley, while playing a game, Angus looks to his left to see some girls giggling at him as he speaks with Mr. Hunham. In shots of Angus from in front, he has his arms to his sides, but when the camera cuts to the angle showing Angus looking at the girls, his arms are crossed. It cuts back and forth a couple of times from arms crossed to not.
Factual error: In a shot where Mr. Hunham's car is driving towards the camera past a brown building, there are a few modern 2000s cars parked in the open that are very easily noticeable since the shot zooms in on the car as it passes by them. (01:23:58)
Factual error: During the Christmas party, "Silent Night" by The Temptations' Silent Night is playing. That version of the song, with Glenn Leonard singing lead, wasn't released until 1980.
Factual error: The basketball court in the gym has a 3-point arc. High school didn't adopt the three-pointer until 1987-88. (01:00:00)
Factual error: When driving on the roads on the way to Boston, Mr. Hunham's car passes by a red house where you can see what is a parked 2000's car, though obscured only slightly by some branches from a bush or tree. (01:23:30)
Character mistake: At the beginning of the film, while packing, Angus justifies why he has a swimsuit that looks like woman's underwear by claiming it's the swimsuit James Bond wore in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service,' which, in the timeline of the film, had just come out a year earlier in 1969. Except, Bond doesn't wear a swimsuit in any scenes in that film, let alone a Speedo. Angus may have been boasting (lying) to deflect criticism, but he's still wrong.
Answer: The best information I read was from an online "People" magazine article. Actor Paul Giamatti says he is sworn to secrecy on how the lazy eye effect was achieved, other than to say it was "movie magic." I hope someone finds additional information and shares it here, as I'd like to know more.
raywest ★
According to a YouTube video from WhatCulture that I watched today, Giamatti recently revealed on the Howard Stern Show that he wore a big soft contact lens, which practically blinded him in that eye.
Phaneron ★