There's nothing quite like a shared craving for nicotine to reunite estranged friends. Seems Brad Pitt experienced a chummy moment with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston's BFF Courteney Cox and her hubby, David Arquette, on a smoking balcony at the Golden Globes on Monday, according to Us Weekly.

Courteney and David reportedly made the first move by seeking out Pitt, who greeted the actress with a tight squeeze and the words, "Hello, sweetheart. It is so great to see you."

Then, continues People, Brad motioned to Angelina Jolie and enthused, "Meet some great friends of mine."

What followed was either a "brief hello" or, according to Us, an "awkward hello."

Either way, before the couples bid farewell, they engaged in a bit of small talk about their small fries ("We did 'Finding Nemo,' but they've been off that for a while," said Pitt of his tots, according to Us. "We have a 5-year-old!").

Brad then showed his softer side by throwing his arms around David's neck and giving him a kiss (a manly one, we're sure) on the cheek goodbye.

Last week, Arquette stood up for Pitt during a sit-down with Howard Stern, insisting they've all moved on from his bust-up with Aniston and insta-domestic bliss with Jolie: "I love Brad, he's a great guy. He did some stuff that hurt our friend, but you know ..." He added that he's never seen Jen cry over their split, "not one tear shed."

Also feeling the Brad love is Ryan Seacrest, who raved on his radio show Wednesday that he was "fantastic" during their red carpet Golden Globe chat.

But the stubble-covered talking head was less enamored with Angelina, who kept her pillowy lips zipped during most of the interview, which prompted plenty of speculation over the cause of her apparent peevishness.

"I asked her four questions and she didn't even answer me," kvetched Seacrest. "I literally stood there and tried to ask a couple of questions. At one point I just kind of let the E! microphone sit in front of her for a second to see if she was going to acknowledge it, and she clearly wanted nothing to do with me or my question or my answer or any of it."

In Jolie's defense, she appeared to be letting her "Babel"-promoting baby daddy soak up the spotlight, and was perhaps unsure exactly how to answer such probing questions as, "Are you a good cook?"

Besides, as Ryan's co-host pointed out, she might not have been too excited to take time away from her do-gooder schedule to join in Hollywood's yearly self-affirmation extravaganza.

"Well, then don't go," fumed Seacrest. "Don't go. Don't go support your man. Don't go."

Alas, the anti-Angelina sentiment doesn't end there.

An insider on the set of her recent Vogue cover shoot with photographer Annie Leibovitz alleges to Us that the altruistic Oscar winner "was a nightmare. It became all about Angelina fussing over her hair and makeup. Annie and Angelina did not get along because of it."

But there is some good news for Jolie. She's won several new fans at a decidedly downscale bar in New Orleans' French Quarter, where she and Pitt recently purchased a $3.5 million, 7,400-square-foot mansion.

A regular at the Abbey tells the Times-Picayune that Angelina stopped by last week with a few pals and happily chatted with the other customers, who were "intrigued" by her presence but did their best to respect her personal space.

"She was nice to everybody who came in, and I found that refreshing because some people with money are high on themselves," recalled the impressed patron. "I think it is good for the city, but they should be left alone and given their privacy."