Ron Howard's favourite movie of the 21st century
Ron Howard is known for making upbeat movies about the essential goodness of humanity, but his taste in other people's movies hasn't always aligned.
(Credits: Far Out / Georges Biard)
Film » Cutting Room Floor
Sun 2 February 2025 16:45, UK
Lately, there has been a trend of directors and actors revealing their favourite movies. Though this can sometimes come across as a PR stunt in which the celebrity in question tailors their choices to whatever version of themselves they would like the public to appreciate, it is often quite revealing. Sometimes, it even helps bring undiscovered gems to light. For example, any time Martin Scorsese tosses off a glowing remark about an obscure Polish director from the 1950s or a modern indie horror auteur, those filmmakers suddenly attain the spotlight they deserve.
Then, there’s Ron Howard, who may not be as authoritative a figure on cinema history as Scorsese, but whose enthusiasm can never be questioned. He is, after all, the man who played plucky youngster Opie in The Andy Griffith Show, Richie Cunningham on Happy Days, and directed such life-affirming dramas as Parenthood, Apollo 13, and A Beautiful Mind. He is, in short, a cinematic optimist, and has been generous with his praise for other filmmakers.
He’s a passionate advocate for the underrated Tom Hardy thriller Locke, and has expressed his unmitigated respect for Alex Garland’s moody science fiction debut Ex Machina. Interestingly, neither of these films is particularly in sync with his own directorial style. He tends towards stories full of heart and warmth, whereas Ex Machina, in particular, focuses largely on human cruelty and ego-driven folly.
When it comes to his favourite movie of the 21st century, however, Howard is about as on-brand as he could be without picking one of his own movies. During a Reddit ‘As Me Anything’ thread in 2015, the director was asked to name some of his favourite films. After singing the praises of Locke and Ex Machina, he said, “Of course, my favourite movie in the last seven or eight years is probably just Slumdog Millionaire. I keep going back and watching that movie, and I just love it.”
Directed by Danny Boyle, the film stars Dev Patel as Jamal, a contestant on the Hindi Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? who is accused of cheating after getting every question right. When the police question him, he tells them his life story of growing up in the slums of Mumbai, using his intelligence and craftiness to escape peril, all while filing away his experiences into an encyclopedic memory bank.
Although it’s been criticised from the beginning over how its British creators depict India, Slumdog Millionaire was a box office smash, earning over $378million off a budget of a scant $15million. At the Oscars, it was showered with awards, winning eight out of the ten categories for which it was nominated.
Howard’s adoration for the film is particularly notable given that he had his own movie up for awards that season. Frost/Nixon received rave reviews and netted five Oscar nominations, but Howard was able to set his personal interests aside. “[A]s competitive a guy I can be, you know I had to sort of say hats off to Danny Boyle and Slumdog Millionaire,” he said, adding that it was “Just remarkable entertainment and fresh, and original and very thought provoking too.”
To make things even more ironic, there are plenty of critics who have argued that Frost/Nixon deserved to win at least some of the awards for which it was nominated. However, as an understated historical drama that takes place largely within a single room, it had no hope of outcompeting the kaleidoscope of colour, music, and editing that Boyle achieved.
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Danny BoyleRon Howard
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