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#redirect[[List_of_View_Askewniverse_characters#Randal_Graves]] |
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[[Image:Clerksbored.gif|right|thumb|Dante Hicks (left) and Randal (right)]] |
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'''Randal Graves''' (b. [[ October 23,1973]]) is a [[fictional character]] in director [[Kevin Smith]]'s [[View Askewniverse]], portrayed by [[Jeff Anderson]]. He was introduced in Smith's debut film ''[[Clerks.]]'' He also appeared in [[Clerks (comic)|comic books]], an [[Clerks: The Animated Series|animated series]] and a [[Clerks II|sequel]] based on the film. |
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Randal is a clerk at RST Video, located next door to the Quick Stop convenience store in [[Leonardo, New Jersey]]. In the first film and the cartoon, Randal is a prime example of the typical [[slacker]]: He works in a dead-end job, has no respect for customers, and arrives at work late every day. He periodically closes the store (during work hours) to chat with his best friend [[Dante Hicks]], a Quick Stop clerk. Whereas Dante believes that title dictates behavior, Randal does whatever he pleases. He has been known to order [[pornography|porn]] movies for RST Video in front of customers, spit water in customers' faces, and intrude on private conversations about [[sex]]. |
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Randal's behavior at times appears contradictory; for example, he notes 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 might also perhaps be the worst confidant of all time, frequently causing an uproar in Dante's personal life by spilling secrets to those he shouldn't. |
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His life centers on movies, [[video game]]s 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 (using the term love in romantic terms). The few relationships he had never lasted because of his nonchalant attitude; his ex-girlfriends were subsequently so fed up with men that they became [[lesbian]]s. In contrast, it is implied he has a budding sex life, despite the overall patheticness of his existence; he has girls over when his mother isn't home and when she is, he brings them over to the Quick Stop. In [[Clerks II]], it is stated that many of his sexual exploits are with "barely legal pussy" (seventeen-year-old girls), thanks in no small part to their willingness to take part in taboo sexual acts (such as what he and others refer to bluntly as [[ass-to-mouth]]). |
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==Appearances after ''Clerks.''== |
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A ''Clerks'' live action TV series was produced, without Kevin Smith's permission, by [[Disney]] in 1995. Anderson auditioned for the role of Dante, since his role was filled by former [[SNL]] performer [[Jim Breuer]]. Anderson later said he was glad he didn't get the part, as he thought it was "like ''[[Saved By The Bell]]''". The series never aired. |
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Randal also appears in the three [[Clerks (comic)|''Clerks'' comic books]] Smith has written: ''Clerks: The Comic Book'', ''Clerks: Holiday Special'' and ''Clerks: The Lost Scene'', as well as a comic strip, [http://newsaskew.com/comics/talk/1199.jpg "On the Perils of Cinema"], that appeared in the [[November]] [[1999]] issue of [[Talk magazine|''Talk'' magazine]]. He makes very brief appearances in Smith's other comic book serials, ''[[Chasing Dogma]]'' and ''[[Bluntman and Chronic]]'' as well as ''[[Walt Flanagan's Dog (comic)|Walt Flanagan's Dog]]''. |
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He has a [[cameo role|cameo]] in ''[[Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back]]'', which shows him still hanging out with Dante at the Quick Stop. He makes a large decision (for him), finally plucking the effort to get rid of Jay and Silent Bob by getting a [[restraining order]] against them. He also appears in the 2002 [[short film]] ''[[The Flying Car]]'', in which he asks Dante the hypothetical question of what he would sacrifice for marketing rights to the titular technology. |
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Randal features prominently in ''[[Clerks: The Lost Scene]]'', a short animated in the style of the TV series, which, like the comic book of the same name, depicts the events at Julie Dwyer's wake that were never filmed because of cost. |
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==Clerks: The Animated Series== |
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Randal is portrayed in the short-lived animated series as an immature slacker who often finds himself in abnormal situations. |
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*In the series' first episode (which was unaired by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]), Randal assists Dante in bringing down key series villain [[Leonardo Leonardo]] and his "Quicker Stop" establishment. Gaining an idea from the television show ''[[The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer]]'', he masquerades as a woman to bring Leonardo to justice. |
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*The series' second episode finds Randal and Dante locked inside the Quick Stop's walk-in freezer. As they pass the time, it is revealed that the pair were employed by the stores as early as 1985 and met as children in the [[1970s]] (when Randal was also introduced to pornographic magazines; it would be more accurate to say that Randall vaguely acknowledged that Dante had just met him, and that he actually met Dante at some later time when he wasn't engrossed in the dirty magazines of a deceased diabetic). |
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*In the series' third episode, Randal provokes mass pandemonium after mistaking Leonardo's sickly reaction to stale burritos as the [[Outbreak (film)|deadly motaba virus.]] The stores are quarantined and Dante must publicly admit to being [[gay]] in order to save the town from being vaporized by fighter jets. |
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*The series' fourth episode (the first aired by ABC) finds Randal (seemingly intentionally) talking Jay into suing Dante and the Quick Stop after slipping on spilled soda. Randal also goes on to act as Dante's lawyer, effectively dismantling his case. |
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*In the fifth episode, Randal beats his high school high score on a "Pharaoh" arcade machine, only to find out that, a la ''[[The Last Starfighter]]'', the machine served as a secret government recruitment device to enslave Randal and others in subterranean pyramid construction. |
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*While the sixth episode largely mirrors ''Clerks'' in terms of style, Randal nevertheless manages to indirectly admit to spying on the [[President of the United States]] (by making a prank phone call to [[Air Force One]]) and willfully admits to hating ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' to the point where he harassed actresses [[Rue McClanahan]], [[Bea Arthur]], and [[Estelle Getty]]. |
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==Clerks II== |
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Dante and Randal were the main characters of the [[2006 in film|2006 film]] ''[[Clerks II]]'', set approximately 10 years after the first film, with Randal now in his early 30s. In the beginning of the film, he and Dante get jobs at [[Mooby the Golden Calf|Mooby's]], a new low-rent [[fast food]] restaurant, after the Quick Stop burned down. |
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As in his previous job, Randal goofs off while he is supposed to be working; he spends his day flirting with teenaged customers (referring to them as "barely legal pussy"), berating the ''[[Lord of the Rings (film)|Lord of the Rings]]'' film trilogy, and venting his [[clinical depression|depression]] at aging by attempting to relive favorite pastimes. The main plot of the film revolves around Dante's decision to move to [[Florida]] with his soon-to-be wife, which leaves Randal feeling rejected. |
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Randal arranges a [[donkey show]] for Dante's going-away party, but ruins Dante's engagement by congratulating store manager Becky on her [[pregnancy]] with Dante's child, a personal detail she thought he did not know. The donkey show goes on as intended, but Randal finds out too late that a man, not a woman, "performs" with the animal. Everyone in the restaurant, except Becky, is taken to jail, where an infuriated Dante renounces their friendship, leaving Randal devastated and angry. He tearfully tells his best friend that he loves him ("in a totally [[heterosexual]] way") and says the two of them should reopen the Quick Stop and run it themselves. Dante finally realizes what he really wants to do with his life, and agrees. The two go into business together, and live happily ever after. |
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==Trivia== |
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* Smith originally wrote the role of Randal with himself in mind while scribing the first ''Clerks.'' film. However, upon realizing that he couldn't possibly memorize all of the character's lines, especially in the lengthier scenes, he took the smaller part of [[Jay and Silent Bob|Silent Bob]]. |
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* In the "View Askewniverse", Randal and ''[[Mallrats]]'' protagonist [[Brodie Bruce]] are cousins. Both have told sordid stories about a "Cousin Walter." In addition, in the comic book ''[[Clerks. (comic)|Clerks. (The Holiday Special)]]'', Randal makes reference to a sexual act as a "Bruce/Graves family tradition." |
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* Smith's High school friend [[Bryan Johnson (filmmaker)|Bryan Johnson]] was the inspiration behind the character. |
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* Introductions to the six episodes of ''Clerks: The Animated Series'' are introduced on its DVD by Jay and Silent Bob. As they introduce "[[The Last Episode Ever]]", Anderson makes an appearance, chastizing Jay for referring to him as "Mr. Graves." |
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* Studied [[criminology]] with [[Dante Hicks]] |
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{{Kevin Smith}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Randal}} |
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[[Category:View Askew characters]] |
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[[Category:Fictional characters from New Jersey]] |
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