MovieChat Forums > Back to School (1986) Discussion > Casting that seemed out of place

Casting that seemed out of place


William Zabka seemed to always be a heal. In this movie it seemed like they tried to get him to recreate his Karate Kid persona and it didn't seem to fit.


Terry Farrell is overly sweet and I can't remember the love interest being so much taller than the 'hero'. Their hook up had no chemistry and didn't seem believable.

Keith Gordon is probably a fine actor but Christine and this he seems like a fish out of water.

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Bit of trivia: William Zabka wanted the character to be more of a goofy airhead, but the producers kept telling him he needed to act like his Johnny character.

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William Zabka was quite the hot property in the 1980s. Not only was he in "Karate Kid," but he played Robert McCall's (Edward Woodward) son Scott in the TV series "The Equalizer." I thought he was very well-cast here. Even though he is not from Wisconsin, he is blond and blue-eyed, and could carry off the entitled-jock role.

I also thought the pairing between Terry Farrell and Keith Gordon seemed a little odd, at first, but if you think about it, she was more than just a pretty face. Sure, all the guys loved her for her looks, but she showed she was more interested in a guy's actual persona than in his looks. So on that basis I thought it worked very well.

The pairing I thought was least appropriate was the one between Lou (Burt Young) and the girl at the bar. But they were both adults, so..... 🐸

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Judging from the look on Lou's face when Thornton brought the girls over to the table to meet him, I think Lou would agree with you! LOL!

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