Digest spoke to Victoria Rowell (ex-Drucilla, Young And Restless) about her new movie, Summer Camp, which opens in theaters on May 31. The cast of the cinematic comedy includes A-listers Kathy Bates, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy and Alfre Woodard.
The plot of Summer Camp centers around three women, played by Bates, Keaton and Woodard, who became besties after meeting at a childhood summer camp. Forty years later, this trio of friends has drifted apart so they decide to remedy that by attending the camp’s upcoming reunion.
“This movie is about the power and the magic of old friends and those shared histories,” echoes Rowell. “You can’t put a price on it whether they’re your friends or your frenemies, who tell you like it is. It really is an homage to friendship and of course the zany comedy that takes place on this reunion. There are two competing groups and as is the case with young girls, whether it’s in school or on a sports team or in a ballet summer program, there’s going to be competition and so there are flashback sequences throughout the movie, and after all these years, everyone is still competitive. There have been like many camp reunions and this is their first one.”
Rowell plays Evelyn, a summer camp alum. “My character is part of the Pretty Committee along with Beverly D’Angelo and Maria Howell,” she explains. “We’re the other group of girls going up against Diane’s group, which includes, Alfre and Kathy. The group I’m in is a little over the top and wears Easter egg colors while not apologizing about doing whatever it takes to make themselves look 20 years younger. Everything is glam with them, even among the mosquitos and squirrels. It’s hilarious.”
Aside from Rowell reconnecting with actors she has worked with in the past (“Alfre and I did a short film called Secrets that was written and directed by Sheryl Lee Ralph and I also worked with Beverly on a movie in the ’70s”), she shared memorable experiences with her big-name co-stars. “Kathy Bates and I bonded over a mutual friend, Skye P. Marshall, who is a brilliant actress, and stars on Kathy’s new rebooted series, Matlock,” Rowell recalls. “And I did a few episodes with Skye on Good Sam, so Kathy and I gushed about her. Diane Keaton, who was also a producer, was just lovely and I’ve always wanted to work with her so it was a dream come true. It was amazing to share a couple of scenes with her and just watch her in action.”
Exterior shooting took place in North Carolina. “I was there for a month and it was like a forced vacation,” Rowell chuckles. “We shot at this 1920s summer camp called Camp Pinnacle that is still in operation today. We also had to practice river rafting, which I’ve never done before. We had to learn about safety from a trainer and practice, practice, practice. In the lower rapids is where the Olympians train and we were all like, ‘Oh, my god!’ but was a ton of fun.”
Rowell was thrilled to get back to her original love of comedic acting. “I started in comedy with Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show,” she points out. “I did Dumb And Dumber with Jim Carrey, The Distinguished Gentleman with Eddie Murphy, and I worked with Will Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, so comedy is my first knee jerk. I consider myself a really funny person.”
Which extends to two other movie projects. “I just got finished directing a comedy Christmas movie last week in Atlanta, Georgia,” she reveals. “It’s titled Christmas in The Friendly Skies, which I co-wrote and it’s about everything that can go wrong with trying to get home on Christmas Eve. I’m also in another comedy Christmas movie coming out this year called Blended Christmas.”
Still, Rowell doesn’t regret her detour to soaps (read this ICYMI interview with the actress). She affirms, “I’ve always loved comedy, but with two kids to raise, when I had these opportunities in the more dramatic realm, and certainly in daytime drama, I went with it but I’m always looking to do comedy.”
