Dante Hicks
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Dante Hicks is a fictional character in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, played by Brian O'Halloran. He was introduced in Clerks.
He is an employee at the Quick Stop convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey.
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[edit] Dante in Clerks.
In Clerks., Dante is in his early 20s and lives with his parents. He feels that because he runs the store, he is independent and in control of his life, yet is a big push-over who apparently often agrees to work when he doesn't have to (hence his catch phrase, "I'm not even supposed to be here today!")
He generally finds a workaround when there is a problem at the store; stuck window shutters, for example, prompt him to create a sign, made with a bedsheet and shoe polish, that reads "I Assure You We're Open," and he steals copies of the local newspaper from a nearby box after finding none were delivered to the store.
He frequently gets into debates ranging from philosophy to Star Wars with Randal, who works at the adjacent RST Video. Dante is based loosely on the poet Dante (the movie itself is loosely based on the first section of The Divine Comedy, Inferno.)
In addition to the unfortunate events of a day at the Quick Stop, the film also deals with Dante's problematic romantic relationships. He has difficulty dealing with his girlfriend Veronica's extensive history of performing fellatio (on 37 different men, including him) — even though she seems to genuinely care for him, going so far as to bring him lasagna at work. At the same time, Dante is infatuated with ex-girlfriend Caitlin Bree and seems intent on rekindling that relationship. In the end, Dante ends up with neither woman; Veronica ditches him after learning 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.
Toward the end of the film, Dante laments his lot in life, only to be left speechless when Randal explodes at him, accusing him of wasting his life.
[edit] Dante in Clerks II
In Clerks II, Dante is now in his 30s. After being forced to find a source of employment other than Quickstop following its cataclysmic destruction, he, along with his friend Randal, works at Mooby's, a fast food joint. However, Dante looks like he is finally ready to move on with his life: he is engaged and is set to move to Florida, where a job as a carwash manager awaits him. Much like the first film, he is still plagued by indecision.
Clerks II follows Dante during his last day at work at Mooby's. Dante is engaged to Emma, a domineering woman who makes all his decisions for him. They are set to leave New Jersey the next day and move to Florida, where Dante has been offered a job running one of his future father in law's carwashes.
As his last day at work unfolds, the viewer learns he had a drunken one night stand with his boss, Becky, a young woman who claims not to believe in romantic love. As the day progresses, he comes to the realization that he is in love with Becky and, in an unguarded moment, confesses to her that he loves her. In turn she reveals that she got pregnant as a result of their fling.
After confiding in Randal about his predicament, Randal predictably confronts Becky about the situation, causing her to storm off in her car. Randal encourages Dante to try and find her, but to come back an hour later to help him close up the place. While driving around alone, Dante has time to think and decides that he wants a family life and to stick with Becky.
As he comes back to work, he sees smoke coming from inside the Mooby's and dials 9-1-1 for help. Inside, instead of a fire, he finds his friends waiting for him for a surprise farewell party, as Randal had secretly booked a donkey show as Dante's going away surprise. During the party, Becky returns, and finally admits to Dante that she loves him. Overjoyed, they start kissing passionately, only to be surprised by Emma. She kicks him in the groin, throws the cake she had prepared for him in his face and leaves after throwing her engagement ring at Becky. Immediately following this, the police and fire department show up, and the entire group, save Becky, is arrested.
While in jail, Dante wants to go back to Emma and move to Florida. Randal convinces him to stay in New Jersey, buy the Quick Stop and re-open it. After his release from jail, Dante pulls up to the drive through window where Becky works and offers her an engagement ring. She enthusiastically accepts, asking "What took you so long?" He and Randal buy the building where the Quick Stop and RST Video store used to be and re-open them.
[edit] Other appearances
A Clerks live action TV pilot was made, without Kevin Smith's permission, by the Walt Disney company. O' Halloran originally auditioned for his role, but was eventually portrayed by Andrew Lowery. O'Halloran later said he was glad not to get the part, as the pilot was not of great quality.
Dante also appears in the three Clerks comic books Smith has written: Clerks: The Comic Book, Clerks: Holiday Special and Clerks: The Lost Scene, as well as a comic strip, "On the Perils of Cinema", that appeared in the November 1999 issue of 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.
He has a cameo in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in which Randal loses his temper with Jay and Silent Bob and banishes them from the Quick Stop, where he still works. Later, when the pair are described as terrorists on the news, Dante acknowledges that the restraining order was a good idea, and at the cinema at the end, he is incredulous that his character in the Bluntman and Chronic film was played by Judi Dench.
He appears in animated form in Clerks: The Animated Series, of which six episodes were produced (with only two airing on ABC before the series was cancelled). Still employed at the Quick Stop, his adventures throughout the series' short existence include managing a Junior Little League baseball team, being sued by Jay for $10 million, and being forced to admit he is homosexual on national television in order to save Leonardo from being destroyed by a military bomber.
He also appears in the 2002 short film The Flying Car, in which he's asked by Randal what he would sacrifice for marketing rights to the eponymous technology.
Dante features 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 cut from the film.
[edit] Trivia
- In an alternate ending to Clerks., Dante is shot and killed by an armed robber after Randal leaves, cementing the fact that he was "not supposed to be here today."
- Dante's goatee changes throughout Clerks. Kevin Smith had asked Brian O'Halloran to shave it off; once he saw O'Halloran without it, Smith asked him to grow it back.
- Subsequent Askewniverse films feature characters named Hicks who are played by O'Halloran; all are said to be cousins of Dante, including Gil Hicks, a university scholar who appeared in Mallrats on the T.V. show "Truth or Date"; Grant Hicks, a news reporter seen in Dogma, and Jim Hicks, a television producer seen in Chasing Amy,
| Kevin Smith |
|---|
| Films |
| The View Askewniverse: Clerks | Mallrats | Chasing Amy | Dogma | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Clerks II Upcoming: Untitled Horror Project | Ranger Danger and the Danger Rangers | Clerks: Sell Out |
| Comics |
| Clerks | Chasing Dogma | Bluntman and Chronic | Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do | Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target |
| Notable characters |
| Jay and Silent Bob | Dante | Randal | Banky | Alyssa | Leonardo | Bluntman and Chronic | Mooby | Buddy Christ | Brodie | Willam | Minor characters |
| Miscellaneous |
| View Askew Productions | View Askewniverse motifs | The Flying Car | Clerks: The Animated Series | Clerks: The Lost Scene | Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash | Silent Bob Speaks | Trooper Clerks |
