FILM LOVE POTION No. 9 Love Potion No. 9 (1992) was written and directed by Dale Launer, starring Tate Donovan (as Paul Matthews), Sandra Bullock (as Diane Farrow) and Anne Bancroft (as Madame Ruth). Although the movie is called Love Potion n. 9, the love potion used throughout most of the film is love potion n. 8. A SYNOPSYS Paul Matthews is a lonely biochemist with a crush on his unavailable co-worker, biologist Diane Farrow. Since he is hopeless with the opposite sex, his friends take him to a gypsy named Madame Ruth. After reading his palm and seeing absolutely no romance in his life, Madame Ruth gives him a small amount of Love Potion No. 8 on a piece of paper. The substance should make him irresistible to anyone who hears him speak. As a scientist, Paul has doubts and ends up throwing it in the trash when he gets home. His cat gets into the trash and eats some of the potion; then it meows and attracts all the other cats in the neighbourhood. When Paul sees the results, he takes it to Diane, and they find out the scientific properties of it. After analysing it, they decide to use themselves as human test subjects. The film gives a pseudoscientific explanation as to how Love Potion No. 8 works. : When swallowed, it affects the vocal cords directly, so that when you speak micro-tremors encoded within your voice stimulate tiny little hairs in the inner ear of the opposite sex. The hair vibrates, BEFORE WATCHING sending a signal along a nerve to a. What does a biochemist do? the brain, which in turn produces b. Have you ever been to a palm-reader? Why/Why a combination of mood-altering, not? endogenous chemicals responsible for c. Do you believe in the effect of magic potions? the biochemical process of falling in Why/Why not? love. d. Do you think the explanation the film gives After weeks of unsuccessful attempts about the effects of Potion no. 8 has any to seduce Diane, Paul goes back to scientific foundation? Madame Ruth, who gives him Love Potion No. 9 138 Module 3 COMPOUNDS