List of View Askewniverse characters
This is a list of major and recurring characters in Kevin Smith's fictional universe known as the View Askewniverse.
''Clerks'' (1994)
Dante Hicks
Dante Hicks, played by Brian O'Halloran, is 22, works at the Quick Stop Market in Leonardo, New Jersey, and still lives with his parents. He feels that because he runs the store, he is responsible and successful in life, and yet, he is a push-over who often agrees to work when he doesn't have to. He frequently gets into debates ranging from philosophy to Star Wars with his best friend, fellow clerk Randal Graves, who works at the adjacent RST Video Store.Dante is laid-back, personable, articulate, and logical, and is easily angered by Randal's actions or behavior, particularly when Randal's actions lead to negative consequences. For example, Dante often scolds Randal for disrespecting customers, while Randal often tries to defend his actions.
The film centers on the surreal events of a day at the Quick Stop that Dante must deal with. Among other problems, Dante becomes the target of an anti-smoking mob who pelt him with cigarettes, and he is issued a summons and fined for selling cigarettes to a four-year-old, a crime Randal had in fact accidentally committed. In addition, he is continually stalked by Jay and Silent Bob, two drug dealers who loiter in front of the store all day and often like to go inside and steal. A running gag throughout the film is the scent of shoe polish on him, as he uses some to write a makeshift open sign to hang over the stuck window shutters of the store.
The film also deals with Dante's stressful romantic relationships. He has difficulty dealing with his girlfriend Veronica, especially her extensive history of performing fellatio — even though she seems to genuinely love him, going so far as to bring him lasagna at work and help him fix a tire. At the same time, Dante is besotted with ex-girlfriend Caitlin Bree and seems intent on rekindling that relationship. In the end, Dante ends up with neither woman; Randal ends the relationship by telling Veronica that Dante never got over Caitlin, and Caitlin is hospitalized after accidentally having sex in a dark bathroom with a corpse, whom she had believed to be Dante.
After an argument with Veronica, Dante gets into a physical altercation with Randal, and he rants about his anxieties including the loss of his girlfriend and Caitlin, as well as his overall miserable life. He is left speechless when Randal explodes at him, accusing him of blaming everyone else and not taking responsibility for his-own lack of initiative. The two reconcile and clean up the Quick Stop. In the final scene, he tells Randal that he is going to try and work things out with Veronica. It is implied that he will try to find direction in his life.
In the film's original ending, after Randal leaves the Quick Stop to go home, a customer comes in, with Dante telling him that the store is closed. The customer responds by pulling out a gun and killing Dante before taking the money from the cash register and leaving. The scene is meant to reference Dante and Randal's earlier discussion; that "'Empire' was a better film, because it ended on such a down-note". Kevin Smith's mentors criticized this ending; under the advice of one of the mentors, John Pierson, Smith edited out that ending. Therefore, the theatrical version ends when Randal leaves.
In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dante, like Randal, has a cameo early in the film in which the two clerks have Jay and Silent Bob arrested for loitering in front of Quick-Stop as well as for selling drugs in front of the store. As a result, a restraining order was placed on Jay and Silent Bob, who were not allowed within a hundred feet of the store. He and Randal attend the Bluntman and Chronic movie premiere, where Dante expresses chagrin that Judi Dench played him in the movie.
In Clerks II, Dante and Randal are forced to work at a Mooby's fast food restaurant after Randal accidentally leaves a coffee pot on in the Quick Stop, causing the store to burn down. It is revealed that Dante is engaged and is planning to move to Florida with his fiancée Emma. This leaves Randal feeling depressed, but does not express his upset at Dante over the decision until near the end of the movie. Randal also expresses his fears of losing Dante; under the persuasion of Randal, Dante decides to stay in New Jersey. With the two having been fired for Dante's very unconventional bachelor party at Mooby's, the two purchase the Quick Stop and the RST Video, which they restore and co-manage. He also calls off his engagement with Emma in favor of his boss, Becky.
Dante briefly appears twice in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. The first is at the film's opening where he arrives at the Quick Stop to open the store and is quickly pulled aside by police officers. Not knowing what's going on, Dante assumes they are looking for Randal and offers to reveal his location. The second is at the film's end where he complains about the steel shutters being once again jammed with chewed gum, not even noticing Jay, Silent Bob and Jay's daughter Milly. Jay then revealed to Milly that he and Silent Bob had been pranking Dante by purposely putting in chewed gum in the locks for the past twenty-five years.
In Clerks III, Dante is still working in the Quick Stop with Randal. He is mourning the loss of Becky, who was killed along with their unborn child by a drunk driver. After Randal survives a heart attack, Dante agrees to help him make an independent film about their time working together at the Quick Stop. Throughout the film, Dante imagines himself talking to Becky, who tells him to move on with his life. After tensions grow, Dante and Randal get into a serious argument, and the stress causes Dante to suffer a heart attack. Randal, feeling remorseful, sneaks into the hospital and shows Dante their completed movie. Dante, touched by the film, peacefully dies, walking away with Becky.
Randal Graves
Randal Graves, played by Jeff Anderson, is a clerk at RST Video, located next door to the Quick Stop convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey. Chris Smith in The New York Times described this character as a "smart-ass", while multiple reviewers have described him as a "super slacker". In the first film and the cartoon, Randal is a prime example of the typical slacker: He works in a dead-end job, has a hatred for customers, and arrives at work late every day. He periodically closes the store to chat with his best friend Dante Hicks, a Quick Stop clerk. Whereas Dante believes that title dictates responsibility, Randal does whatever he pleases.Randal is usually quite aggressive and offensive and does not really seem to care much about what others think about him. He regularly arrives at the video store at least 15–30 minutes late and charges late fees to customers who have been waiting for the store to open. Often, he ignores customers' requests to recommend a movie, explaining that he does not meddle with other people's affairs. He has been known to order porn movies for the store in front of children, spit water in customers' faces, and intrude on private conversations about sex.
One of Randal's ancestors, who was Scots-Irish, immigrated to New Jersey in the 17th century. Randal is related to Brodie Bruce of Mallrats. The two share a mutual "Cousin Walter", who is known for performing bizarre sexual acts, such as masturbating on a crashing aircraft and eventually killing himself while attempting to perform autofellatio. Both Brodie and Randal also mention stories regarding their grandmother. Brodie once mentioned she became a lesbian on her sixtieth birthday, while Randal mentioned that she used racial slurs in front of him as a child. The latter scenario influenced Randal into using the term "porch-monkey" in front of an African American couple while working at Mooby's. However, Randal did not know at that point that he used a racial slur and claimed he used the term to refer to lazy people of all racial backgrounds in general.
Randal's behavior at times appears contradictory; for example, he says that he hates people but loves social gatherings, and says, "This job would be great if it weren't for the fucking customers". Such behavior spills into his relationship with Dante, whom he often coerces into highly unlikely, theoretical situations by manipulating him into feeling guilty. Randal goes off on an analytical theory of something outlandish, before going to the complete opposite. He frequently causes problems in Dante's personal life by spilling secrets to those he should not.
Despite his toxic personality, Randal truly cares for his best friend Dante. He even once said to Dante's ex-girlfriend Caitlin, "Hey Caitlin. Break his heart again, and I'll kill ya. Nothing personal." To this, Caitlin remarks that he has always been very protective of Dante. Randal sees Dante as the "counterbalance" to the former's dislike of other people. Randal only goes to the Quick Stop instead of staying in the video store to talk to Dante about whatever comes to mind. Randal does his best to offer whatever advice he can to Dante, though Dante generally doesn't take it because of Randal's rather rough way of putting it. Randal has also attempted to do favors for Dante, although they often backfire. For example, in Clerks 2, Randal set up a donkey show as a going-away gift for Dante, who was to move to Florida with his then-fiancée, Emma. However, the show results in Dante and Randal getting arrested, leading to a near-breakdown in their friendship. Another example was in Clerks, after Randal told Veronica that Dante left her for his ex-girlfriend, Caitlin Bree. However, not only was Randal unaware that Dante reconsidered his decision to leave Veronica for Caitlin, but a fight occurs between Randal and Dante after Veronica told him what Randal told her.
In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Randal, like Dante, has a cameo early in the film, in which the two clerks have Jay and Silent Bob arrested for loitering as well as for selling drugs in front of the Quick-Stop. As a result, a restraining order was placed on Jay and Silent Bob, who were not allowed within a hundred feet of the store. He and Dante attend the Bluntman and Chronic movie premiere, where Randal mentions putting up another restraining order on Jay and Silent Bob because he is going to give the movie a scathing review on the Internet.
Randal's life centers on movies, video games, and pornography. He often quotes dialogue and discusses films, goes to other video stores to rent porn, and is often depicted in Clerks: The Animated Series with a porn magazine. His love life is nonexistent. The few relationships he had never lasted; his ex-girlfriends were subsequently so fed up with men that they became lesbians. In contrast, it is implied he has a budding sex life, despite his overall aimless existence; he frequently has girls over to his house, and brings them over to the Quick Stop when his mother is home. In Clerks II, it is stated that many of his sexual exploits are with "barely-legal pussy", thanks in no small part to their willingness to take part in taboo sexual acts. As evidenced in a scene in Clerks II, Randal's favorite band is King Diamond and he is a fan of 80s speed metal and black metal; he dislikes other music, such as the funk/soul band The Time. He is a fan of the novel Catcher in the Rye because it "recognizes the sheer volume of phonies in the world". Randal is also a fan of the Star Wars trilogy and Ranger Danger, and staunchly hates the Lord of the Rings and Transformers.
Randal is also frequently the cause of the problems that he and Dante get into, much to Dante's constant annoyance. Clerks: The Animated Series shows this at least once per episode, and it is mentioned in Clerks II that Randal is responsible for several of Dante's ruined relationships. This trait reaches its apex in the third episode of the animated series, where he almost gets Leonardo Leonardo destroyed by the U.S. Air Force after he mistakes the villain's food poisoning for the deadly motaba virus. It's also revealed here that he got his and Dante's jobs throughout the films and show; when Dante is teasing Randal for always being wrong, Randal retorts, "What about that time I told you about those two open jobs down the street? You know we'd stay there for a while, earn some money then move on with our lives." He then realizes that they have spent practically a decade at their jobs and yells, "Oh my God, you're right, I'm always wrong!" Randal is based on Smith's long-time friend Bryan Johnson.
Randal does not appear in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, but is mentioned by Dante at the beginning of the film when Dante offers to tell the police where Randal is.
In Clerks III, Randal is still working in the Quick Stop when he suffers a widow-maker heart attack. Falling into a depression, Randall decides to make a movie about his life working at the Quick Stop, with the help of Dante, Jay and Silent Bob, and other locals. After Dante passes away from a heart attack, Randall mourns his loss, but continues to work at the Quick Stop, promoting Elias to be his "new best friend."