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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, November 27, 2009

Comedy's all Iglesias, Cook have in common


By Ryan Senaga
Special toThe Advertiser

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Comedian Gabriel Iglesias' self-deprecating brand of humor centers on his girth, while Dane Cook's routines focus on entertainment, politics and pop culture.

Lencho Gu, Tony Duran

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GABRIEL IGLESIAS

"I'm Not Fat I'm Fluffy"

Blaisdell Concert Hall

7 tonight

$35

877-750-4400, www.www.ticketmaster.com

DANE COOK

"ISolated INcident, Phase 2"

Blaisdell Arena

8 p.m. Saturday

$30, $60, $100

Opening acts: Robert Kelly, Al Del Bene

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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Comedians Gabriel Iglesias and Dane Cook each had recent specials on Comedy Central, and both showcase their standup acts in Honolulu this weekend.

But that's where the similarities between the two pretty much end.

Iglesias performs his "I'm Not Fat I'm Fluffy" act at 7 tonight. As the name of the show implies, he delivers a self-deprecating humor that centers on his considerable girth.

Cook's humor is vastly different, which you would probably expect from a guy who's been on the cover of Men's Health and starred in movies with the likes of Kate Hudson ("MyBest Friend's Girl"), Jessica Alba ("Good Luck Chuck") and Jessica Simpson ("Employee of the Month").

Cook's routines often center on entertainment, politics and pop culture.

While he has done some self-deprecating routines about dropping his iPhone in the toilet while trying to shoulder-talk into it, he's also worked bits about the old Kool-Aid commercial that shows the jug bursting through the wall of a home ("What, you couldn't use the door?"), and about President Obama ("I just love the name Barack Obama. It just sounds like power. I feel like he should be fighting Oscar De La Hoya").

At 37, Cook is the heartthrob of standup comics: fit, good looking and successful. Forbes estimated his 2007 earnings to be $9 million, and his 2005 album "Retaliation" was the first comedy album to hit the Billboard top five in 29 years.

Iglesias, 32, is the happy-go-lucky guy you gravitate toward, and he typically wears an XXXXL aloha shirt.He tells people during his act that if they see him on the street, don't be afraid to stop and talk to him. He loves it.

He nicknamed himself "Fluffy" after his "Six Levels of Fatness" sketch. His levels are "Big," "Healthy," "Husky," "Fluffy," "Damn!" and "Oh, hell no!" He even sells XL T-shirts on his Web site, www.fluffyshop.com.

In 2000, Iglesias won a Nickelodean Kid's Choice Award for his TV show "All That." He was also on NBC's "Last Comic Standing," although he was disqualified for using a BlackBerry.

Next up for Iglesias is a soon-to-be-released debut CDcalled, "Picachu I See You." It will deal with, of course, his weight and his Latino heritage.

"It's just going to be funny," Iglesias said. "It won't have an all-Latino audience. It's going to be modern. I want to show people that Latinos are here, but we don't have to be stereotypical."

TGIFEditor Dave Dondoneau contributed to this report.