Gabriel Iglesias may be another example of an "overnight success" years in the making. Just now starting to achieve broad popularity, the comedian has been performing since 1997, first in small clubs in Southern California where he grew up, then larger venues around the southwest, eventually getting invites to do small bits on specials and shows like Late Late, Kimmel, and eventually Leno. He was already well established by the time he appeared on Last Comic Standing where he did well before being disqualified for BlackBerrying his longtime grirlfriend on his status.
This last fits in well with his stage persona, where he comes across as a genuinely nice guy whose humor generally flows from exaggerated observations of family life. He even does a bit on trying to text her while drunk after another show. He is still with the woman and has de facto adopted her son, though they are still unmarried, a fact that he notes several times while poking fun at himself and those close to him. He makes fun of his mom for being scared of the remote ignition feature on his new car, his son for his awkward first forays into adolescence, his girlfriend for being overprotective of the boy and for listening to her instigating friends, and himself for drinking too much, teasing his mom, not proposing to his girlfriend, being a bad influence on the kid, and of course for being fat. The "fluffy" is a reference to his earlier DVD Hot and Fluffy, where he introduced a taxonomy of five euphemisms for overweight starting at "healthy" and ending with "Damn!". Fluffy was next to last (he is well under six feet and north of 300 lbs.), but obesity marches on, and this DVD gives us the breaking news that a sixth category has been uncovered, "Oh, hell naw!"
The humor is generally snappy and well-delivered; he works the stage like a pro and has a good rapport with the audience, many of whom were clearly fans to begin with. Seldom hysterically funny, the material and his knack for impressions make for an enjoyable hour. Worth a look.
Highlights: Gotta be the bit about how school principals are professionally difficult to fool.
Extras: Include material from his opening acts and edited bits from the main act. Also excerpts from an after-the-show session of hanging out with the fans and answering questions and requests.
ComicsOnline gives Gabriel Iglesias- I'm Not Fat… I'm Fluffy 3 out of 5 throwaway references to George Lopez.
69 minutes. Not rated, but fairly clean, with the most questionable bits referring to heavy drinking and a couple mentions of porn. Minimal profanity, and most of that in Spanish.
