Anything but a fluff-ball interview

Occasionally one comes to an interview over-prepared. Such was the case with Gabriel Iglesias, the comedian who recently visited San Diego on a leg of the promotional tour for his first big screen comedy concert, The Fluffy Movie.

Unschooled in his standup work, my prior knowledge of Fluffy, Iglesias’ comical nom de plume, was limited to his down and dirty cameos in Magic Mike and A Haunted House 2. In my notebook were six pages of questions pertaining to everything from "What voice actors inspire your work?" (Gabe’s given voice to numerous cartoon characters) to smart-ass throwaway quips involving Tony Randall and a lion.

The list of prepared questions could have remained in the glovebox for all the good they did me. Within a minute, Gabe’s personable demeanor caught me off guard (and script). Fluffy was going to be anything but a fluff-ball interview.

It would best serve you to bookmark the video and come back to it after having seeing the movie, which opens Friday, July 25 at a theater near you.

A good portion of the film is dedicated to Gabe’s awkward reunion with a father he hadn’t seen in over 30 years. The sentimental soul wanted nothing more than a photo with his parents for the Iglesias family scrapbook. It wasn’t meant to be, but Gabe reveals how a snapshot from an unknown relative came close to making his dream a reality.