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 20th
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.
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