Stand up comedy has to be one of the oldest forms of entertainment in human history. Sure there were those that gained recognition from their peers as singers or musicians or even actors but the nature of our species is such that we love to laugh and laude those who can bring laughter to us. At one time, back in the sixties, the party comedy album became popular. This would basically be a comedian’s stand up act recorded for an album. Unlike television these recordings where able to be more cutting edge containing language and topics that no television network censor would ever permit. Then can the cable TV revolution and comics that would otherwise been left to the comedy clubs were given a chance to shine. This leads us up to the advent of the DVD where you could not only hear things forbidden on broadcast TV but see it. If it wasn’t for such innovations most of us would never have heard of Christopher Titus. His brand of humor is at times brutally honest and real. He doesn’t hold a single punch back as he stands before his audience and relates a life that most would consider to be dreadful. This man has endured childhood trauma that would make a Lifetime flick pale in comparison. Throughout it all he has kept a dark sense of humor and not only has this seen him through these difficult times it has entertained millions of fans. In recognition of Saint Valentine’s Day Comedy Central is broadcasting the latest routine from Titus; ‘Love is Evol’. This is a word play on the evils of love and in typical Titus fashion the only way he can work during a holiday that celebrates love and the joys of being together. This is not a show that is geared towards lovers of any age. It is cynical, harsh and extremely funny for those that share Titus’ dark and damaged sense of humor. This is for people who have lived live and seen the foibles of our kind and want to laugh at it instead of finding despair. Most of us have families that would be considered dysfunctional to some degree or another. No one really grows up in a ‘Leave it to Beaver’ household and this program celebrates what it takes to get through life; humor. This is a man who has lived by the old adage; when life hands you lemons make lemonade. He does this with a style and flair that few could have mustered after what life has put in his path. In what has become a common move Comedy Central has set the release of the DVD a mere few days after the premiere of his special. If you are a fan this is a must have and if you haven’t seen his act it will certainly make you one.

As Christopher Titus is quick to relate in all variations of his act is he came from a family that is as far away from what most consider normal as possible. Both his mother and father were addicted to alcohol. His mother was a schizophrenic with a high genius level I.Q. who self medicated with alcohol and various other mind altering drugs. His father was what we all used to call a broken down drunk. Titus is honest and fair in his presentation of his parents noting that even though he was constantly drunk his father almost always kept a roof over their heads and food and the table. Titus has be very honest that the major turning point of his life was when he was drunk and high and fell into a bonfire. He almost died from the burns and smoke inhalation and realized that continuing the family tradition of substance abuse did not hold much of a future. This concert focuses on Titus’ admittedly has a skewed viewpoint of love and relationships. His father would go though five subsequent failed marriages and Titus would live with a girlfriend with a serve cast of bi-polar syndrome. Titus never had a role model for what would be referred to as a normal relationship and because if this we laugh if for no other reason than being thankful that even our messed up family was never this bad. The result of all of this is his latest concert and it is raw, uncut, extended for DVD is hysterical.

Titus walks out to a stage covered with hearts albeit some in skulls. The crowd gives him a thunderous round of applauds as he takes center stage. Is first line sets the dark mood that is the basis of his comedy; ‘If you are in here tonight and you have never contemplated suicide you have not been in love; if you have never contemplated murder you have never been divorced.’ He states that he would rather be the majority stock holder in a chain of Alec Baldwin day care centers with Britney Spears as CEO. He filed for divorce on June 6, 2006, yes three sixes. He muses that if you have met your girlfriend’s family and they are crazy don’t delude yourself that you have the sane one; she is a gel cap of crazy waiting to go into your system. This is not your typical Saint Valentine’s special as he begins to talk about why we stay with these vampires that suck the life out of you as they pull your through psychological barb wire each day. For him the real signs that his marriage was in trouble started two years before the divorce. His wife got her breast, lips and eyes done. Titus notes that he paid for the overhaul so she could get another man. He does go into the six failed marriages of his father and uses that to espouse his views on the childhood damage that is done by a member of the opposite sex that continues to poison relationships for the rest of your life. If you are looking for a romantic special this is not it but his material is extremely funny. His parents had a relationship based on sex and mental illness and while dad thought that was hot Titus is quick to point out the flaws in such logic. His mother was a manic depressive, schizophrenic, alcoholic; Titus claims his umbilical cord was a crazy straw. His father was in the National Guard and was deployed for the Watts riots. That basically meant that he defended liquor stores against rocks. Since they were liquor stores he was the first man in and last man out. His mother shot and killed her last husband so family reunions for Titus are state supervised.

It is great that unlike his previous comedy tour this one made it to DVD. Titus has one of the most expressive faces in stand up comedy. He can change his face in a instant from his outraged father to a hapless child caught in the middle of a parental fight. Most people with the kind of background that Titus had would be paying a fortune for psychological help. He took a different way of coping. He turned his anger and bitter rage outward and has crafted a career out of it. This is dark humor but the outrageous presentation carries it so well that the man is a genius. This is something that you might not want to share with your loved one on that special day but it is well worth viewing.