The screenplay, written by Goorjian, Ron Marasco, Chris Horvath, and Tressa DiFiglia, is loosely based on Pierre Corneille's 17th-century play L'Illusion Comique.

The last vision Donald sees is the return of Christopher now as a mature man, wearied from the difficult curveballs life has thrown him.

James Burke, Scott Disharoon, Anahid Nazarian, and Kevin Weisman served as producers on the film, which marked Michael Goorjian's directorial debut.

[2] Illusion was shot in Calistoga, Oakland, San Francisco, and Berkeley, as well as at Douglas' portions in Beverly Hills, California.

[4] Ronnie Scheib of Variety called the film "weirdly entertaining" and opined that it "is awash in impromptu romantic bits of business staged with flair and wit."

She also wrote, "The saving grace of Illusion is that it is about acting: The similarities and contrasts between Goorjian's and Douglas' different thesping styles give a particular resonance to the hokey moral underpinnings of the plot.

"[5] Moira MacDonald of The Seattle Times stated, "The film suffers from not enough attention to the details: Some of the smaller roles are woodenly performed; much of the dialogue is self-conscious and ridden with coincidence.