Summary
Robert Downey Jr.first came to public attention during the 1980s as one of themembers of the Brat Pack, but one of Downey Jr.’s most famous early roles includes a strangeJohn 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.ManyJohn Hughes movieswent on to be critical and commercial successes, with titles such asFerris Bueller’s Day Off,The Breakfast Club, andNational Lampoon’s Vacationstill 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 members. However, his multiple collaborations with one young star create a weird plot hole.
John Hughes’ Highest-Grossing Movie Confirms An Incredible Truth About 1 Actor After 35 Years
John Hughes is one of the most successful filmmakers of all time, but the highest-grossing movies in his career are defined by this one actor.
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 withNational Lampoon’s Vacationin 1983. Hall was cast alongside Downey Jr. and Kelly LeBrock two years later inWeird Science. A teen science fantasy comedy,Weird Sciencecenters 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’snot the only example of an Anthony Michael Hall character attending the fictional school.
Six months beforeWeird Sciencewas released, another Hughes movie,The Breakfast Club, won over moviegoers. LikeWeird Science,The Breakfast Clubalso 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 fromWeird Scienceand Brian Johnson fromThe 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 inThe Breakfast Clubas 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 bothWeird ScienceandThe Breakfast Club, but it’s also where Ferris Bueller went to school in 1986’sFerris Bueller’s Day Off. Unlike inWeird ScienceandThe Breakfast Club, Shermer High School isn’t actually named inFerris 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, butJohn Hughescreated 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 fromHome Alone, Samantha Baker fromSixteen Candles, and Del Griffith fromPlanes, Trains & Automobilesall likely attended Shermer High School.
Weird Science
Cast
John Hughes' 1985 comedy Weird Science tells the story of two high school students who create a virtual woman using their computer, only to have her come to life. Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith star as teenagers Gary Wallace and Wyatt Donnelly, with Kelly LeBrock playing the artificially created Lisa and Bill Paxton and Robert Downey Jr. in supporting roles,
