Summary

• John Hughes' films of the '80s and '90s were critical and commercial hits, with actors like Anthony Michael Hall becoming his frequent collaborators.
• Hughes frequently used Shermer High School as a setting, creating a paradox where characters from different films attended the same school at the same time.
• The town of Shermer, where the school is located, is a creation of Hughes as a substitute for Northbrook, Illinois, where he spent his teenage years.

Robert Downey Jr. first came to public attention during the 1980s as one of the John Hughes-related paradox. Movie theaters during the '80s were dominated by teen and coming-of-age comedies, many of which helped to propel their young stars to fame. Household names such as Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, and Downey Jr. all got their big breaks during this era. However, the biggest influence on '80s teen comedies was undoubtedly John Hughes.

Hughes wrote, directed, and produced some of the biggest comedies of the '80s and '90s. Many John Hughes movies went on to be critical and commercial successes, with titles such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and National Lampoon's Vacation still being beloved to this day. The filmmaker was known for collaborating with the same actors on several occasions, many of whom were considered Brat Pack . However, his multiple collaborations with one young star create a weird plot hole.

Anthony Michael Hall's Weird Science & Breakfast Club Characters Both Went To Shermer High School In 1985

There were two suspiciously similar students at the same school

One of the filmmaker's most frequent collaborators, Anthony Michael Hall, starred in four John Hughes movies during the 1980s, starting with National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983. Hall was cast alongside Downey Jr. and Kelly LeBrock two years later in Weird Science. A teen science fantasy comedy, Weird Science centers on two high school geeks, Gary and Wyatt, who miraculously create the perfect woman using a doll and a computer program. In the film, Gary and Wyatt are students of Shermer High, but it's not the only example of an Anthony Michael Hall character attending the fictional school.

Six months before Weird Science was released, another Hughes movie, The Breakfast Club, won over moviegoers. Like Weird Science, The Breakfast Club also stars Anthony Michael Hall in a main role and is set at Shermer High School. This creates a rather large paradox: essentially, Hall's two characters, Gary Wallace from Weird Science and Brian Johnson from The Breakfast Club, both attended the same school at the same time. The fact that two students were walking around who happened to look identical but who weren't related in any way would surely have at least raised an eyebrow.

John Hughes has an uncredited cameo in The Breakfast Club as the father of Hall's character, Brian.

John Hughes Frequently Used Shermer High School For His Teen Movies

There's a personal reason behind Hughes' love of Shermer

It seems that, as well as using the same actors for his big-screen projects, Hughes also liked to return to the same setting time and time again. Not only did Shermer High School feature in both Weird Science and The Breakfast Club, but it's also where Ferris Bueller went to school in 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Unlike in Weird Science and The Breakfast Club, Shermer High School isn't actually named in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. However, a banner in the hallway of the school building reads, "Go Shermer!"

The town of Shermer, like the school, doesn't actually exist, but John Hughes created it as a substitute for Northbrook, Illinois, the town where he spent most of his teenage years.

The real-life Shermer High School was actually Maine North High School in Des Plaines, Illinois, which was a filming location for all three movies. The town of Shermer, like the school, doesn't actually exist, but John Hughes created it as a substitute for Northbrook, Illinois, the town where he spent most of his teenage years. The filmmaker previously spoke about how all the main characters in his movies hail from Shermer. This means that Kevin McCallister from Home Alone, Samantha Baker from Sixteen Candles, and Del Griffith from Planes, Trains & Automobiles all likely attended Shermer High School.