- What's your guilty pleasure? - Mmm.
Like huffing the top of a baby's head.
- Yeah. - Gimme that baby!
Ooh, God! Why do they smell so good?
Thought I was dead, didn't ya, bitch?
Sorry, I was daydreaming.
Thinking about my next guest, Maya Rudolph.
When I think of Maya, I think of magic
and the magical world she creates.
We are about to get into it
and find this woman's spirit flower.
[singing] It's another day
That the Lord has blessed us
Da, da, da, da, da
Good day, Maya Rudolph.
Good day, Maurice Harris.
- Welcome to "Centerpiece." - Thank you.
- My warm, fuzzy place. - Mmm.
Got Mom on the ones and twos,
AKA the organ.
We've got Pauli on the drums.
Hi, Pauli.
Let's get "serrus."
Please remove your glasses and prepare for liftoff.
It's an important step.
And now let's take a journey to the center!
When and where were you happiest?
Hilts Avenue.
- Westwood, California. - Okay.
We used to have this great pool,
my childhood house,
and birds-of-paradise.
We'd get in the raft.
We would pretend with my dad that it was like a little tropical island
that we were going to.
The best memories.
Where did that imagination come from?
I remember very clearly being with a friend,
and she was sad, and I didn't want to see her sad,
but I didn't want to experience the sadness.
- Okay. - So I made her laugh.
And I remember thinking, "I'm good at this.
This is what I feel more comfortable with."
How old were you when that moment happened?
I think I was like seven, eight.
As children, we decide who we're gonna be as adults
and how to protect ourselves.
Yeah, I don't know how to be a mom
because I don't have my mom.
I don't know how to be a woman because I don't have my mom.
I don't know how to be an adult
'cause I didn't have that mirror.
So how did you press forward?
Comedy.
That pain that we have to experience
- to get us to such a beautiful place... - Mm-hmm.
And where you're able to just share your magic,
I just think that's, like,
incredible!
If you were a flower, what would you be?
- I wouldn't be a typical flower. - Okay.
I love a flower that looks like it's plastic but it's not.
- Okay. - Like bright...
- Uh-huh, uh-huh. - But it's like so bright,
that like, "Is that a flower?"
Uh-huh.
And now, let's go deep.
- Ooh. - Dramatic lighting change.
- Do you like it hard or soft? - Hard.
Soft.
Land or sea?
Both!
Give me an island!
Prince or Michael Jackson.
Prince.
Boop, boop, boop. And lastly...
my favorite question of all,
you've done many impressions.
You've done Beyoncé.
You've done Whitney.
I'd even throw Rachel Dolezal up in there.
I mean, one can dream.
But can you please grace us
with an impression of me?
I've never been asked to do someone
right in front of them like this before.
That is messed up, sir.
But by the way,
- I'm gonna try. - Okay.
Uh!
Right?
We're out of here.
- Yes, yes? - Yes, yes. You nailed it.
You nailed it. You nailed it.
Girl, it's time to process.
Maya talked about floating past birds-of-paradise
as a young girl,
dreaming about who she would become one day.
Her limitless imagination and endless capacity
to share joy, laughter to people around her
are truly otherworldly.
I mean, it's insane.
Her centerpiece will be an exotic technicolor paradise.
A dream resurrected for that special, funny little girl
who still lives inside of her.
- This is your big moment. - I'm nervous.
Thank you for your time, your energy, opening up.
I wanted to take a moment just to reflect
your creativity, your magic,
your energy back to you through flowers.
Wow. No one's ever done that for me before.
Well, here we are.
Gentlemen, gentlemen. Start your engines.
- What's happening? - And one.
- Two, three, four... - Oh!
- Five, six, seven, eight. - Oh.
Oh, she pretty!
Why do I feel like I'm gonna cry?
Do we have a baby?
- Come to your island, your oasis. - Oh.
I wanted your pink ocean.
You are a tropical paradise.
All of this feels so familiar
and also like a dream.
Now that we're in our magical, brand-new boat,
I think we need to go somewhere.
- But... - How are we gonna do that?
- We don't have any oars. - Oars!
I think our words, our vocals...
[singing] Me, me, me, me, me
- Me, me, me, me, me - Me, me, me, me, me
We're gonna get there with the music.
Hit it, DJ!
- Ooh! - There's a mic.
Of course there is.
[both singing] Row, row, row your boat
- Gently down the stream - Row, row, row your boat
- Gently down the stream - Merrily, merrily, merrily
- Life is but a dream - Merrily, merrily, merrily
- Life is but a dream - Row, row, row your boat
- Gently down the stream - Row, row, row your boat
- Gently down the stream - Merrily, merrily, merrily
- Life is but a dream
- I said row, row, row your boat - Life is but a dream
- Gently down the stream - Row, row, row your boat
[together] Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream
- Hallelujah! - Praise it!
And cut!