The cliche moments in films — the cringy ones you know are coming — are there for a reason.
Take The Magic Juice. Space Jam was where I saw it first.
The protagonist and their team drink some “magic juice” that helps them win against the odds. But near the end, they find out that it was just boring old water, and they had the power in them all along.
This isn’t just the World Mothering Association trying to get you to drink more water and eat some fruit…
The magic juice has to be water because the protagonist has to learn that doing the “boring” stuff we can all do is what makes them a winner. Not some unattainable, magical remedy.
The secret to success is doing the boring stuff, like drinking more water, walking 10 km, doing a bit of exercise. Consuming in a way that doesn’t destroy our planet. Working on something long-term that fulfills us and improves our community.
It’s all small and trite and uncool. Nothing mysterious about it.
But if you can pull that off for any length of time, you win.