Netflix Should Do More Gabriel Iglesias Standup Specials

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias is one of my most favorite standup comedians ever.  I think he’s greatest edge as a comic is his amazing ability to do voices, allowing him to perform versatile impersonations and sound effects.  This makes his delivery of stories extremely vivid, amusing, and immersive, and thus, the humor in them comes across more compellingly.

I first became familiar with him in the same way I did with Jeff Dunham – via Youtube – and just about the same time.  In a past special, Gabriel mentioned about the time he went to Saudi Arabia and learned that Youtube had surprisingly paved the way for Jeff and him to become the number one and two, respectively, most famous comedians in the Middle East – which sounds about right, based on how it mirrored my own experience with them and Youtube.  Technically though, the first time I saw Gabriel was in the sketch comedy show All That, which I watched as a kid, but I didn’t remember this when I was watching Youtube clips of his standup.  Anyway, as far as the standup goes, Youtube was my first encounter with his comedy, which led me to seek and watch his existing specials at that time – Hot and Fluffy, I’m Not Fat I’m Fluffy, Aloha Fluffy, and The Fluffy Movie: Unity Through Laughter – in their entirety.

With that in mind, imagine my surprise when I learned that he had two Netflix specials that somehow flew under my radar all this time – I’m Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry, which came out in 2016; and One Show Fits All, which came out just last January 2019 (instead, the Netflix standup special I ended up watching earlier this year was Ken Jeong’s disappointingly mediocre one).  As soon as I knew, I proceeded to watch them back-to-back.

In I’m Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry, he touches on various topics like going through his very own death hoax a couple of years ago (which I vaguely remember), his experiences in Chicago (the city where this special is shot), and updates about his son Frankie (who, for the information of non-Gabriel fans, is a staple source of material of his).  But my favorite segment is definitely about the racist gift baskets he himself began receiving ever since he shared in Aloha Fluffy the story of the time he pulled a “racist gift basket” practical joke on his comedian friend G Reilly.  As usual, the entire comedy special is a hilarious, good time through and through, but more so for those who are already sold on his style of standup and familiar with his prior work.

Meanwhile, this year’s One Show Fits All is probably my least favorite special of his so far.  Don’t get me wrong; it’s still hilarious and entertaining.  But I feel his past works were stronger.  One Show Fits All is probably more “exclusive” for Gabriel’s fans than any of his previous specials have ever been.  It still has the charm to win over new fans – that’s how talented he is – but it’s a special that is immediately appealing and ultimately more rewarding for old fans.  Also, it’s supposed to be a celebration of his 20^th anniversary in the business.  As a result of this, he decides to end his set with repeating some of his most iconic bits, which the crowd recites in unison with him as if they are in a rock concert singing along.  It’s a sentimental moment, but it’s also somewhat underwhelming considering that, in comparison, his last three specials prior it had notably unforgettable, impactful endings.  Nevertheless, One Show Fits All is still great overall.

I really wish that Netflix – which is now the premier place for standup specials (a fact that Gabriel alluded to in One Show Fits All, while taking a jab at Comedy Central) – will opt to produce more specials for Gabriel Iglesias soon (and Jeff Dunham, for that matter).  Actually, he has a new sitcom series in Netflix right now called Mr. Iglesias.  I saw the pilot.  It was okay.  But it was a bit more on the meh side; I’m on the fence about watching the rest of the season.  Anyway, hopefully, this latest endeavor won’t hinder him from doing standup.  For that’s where he really shines as a comedian.