Shermer, Illinois - John Hughes' Fictitious Chicago Suburb

In the Kevin Smith film, "Dogma," Jay and Silent Bob were on a pilgrimage to a place by the name of Shermer, Illinois. Supposedly a quiet little suburb near Chicago where high school dreams came true.

Unfortunately for Jay and Silent Bob, and, well, all of us, Shermer doesn't really exist. It exists only in the movies of John Hughes and the dreams of the fans of his cinematic tales of unrequited love.

However, Shermer does have its roots in and near Chicago. Let's take a look, shall we?

While Shermer might not truly exist, it does have its counterpart in reality: Northbrook, Illinois.

A suburban area in the Chicago Metropolitan area, Northbrook served as hometown to the director and influence the films that would become cult classics in the 1980s.

Now where did Hughes come up with the name of Shermer, you ask? Northbrook wasn't always known as Northbrook. Once upon a time, it had a different name: Shermerville.

So what films exactly take place in this fictitious Chicago suburb? Here's the official tally:

• The Breakfast Club
• Curly Sue
• Dutch
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• Home Alone and its sequels, Home Alone 2 and 3
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• National Lampoon's European Vacation (partially)
• Planes, Trains and Automobiles (in an interview with Premiere Magazine, John Hughes revealed that Del Griffith, portrayed by John Candy, lived two doors down from Sixteen Candles' Samantha Baker)
• Pretty In Pink
• Reach The Rock
• She's Having a Baby
• Sixteen Candles
• Uncle Buck
• Weird Science

Shermer has also been mentioned in a number of movies including:

• Dogma (the movie begins with Jay and Silent Bob making a pilgrimage to Shermer)
• The Great Outdoors