History Main / LookingForLoveInAlltheWrongPlaces

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* Team Rocket's Meowth in Anime/{{Pokemon}} has been through several infatuations over the years, and they've ended in just about every way imaginable. He learned to walk and talk to impress a girl Meowth, who was already in love with a Persian. He's also been hot for several Skittys, and a Glameow. His desire for a romantic companion has even led to him being tricked a few times; once by a Purrloin [[UnsettlingGenderReveal who was pretending to be a girl]], and once by a Zorua who turned into a girl Meowth to distract him and help thwart Team Rocket's latest scheme.

* The entire ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' series is like this, with the second game even being subtitled "Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)". In the first game, Larry is just out to lose his virginity, but once he does so he finds it hollow and realizes that what he really wants is love. As a result, each game in the series tends to have Larry pursuing every woman in sight in the hopes of finding Miss Right, only discovering her at the very end of the game...[[StatusQuoIsGod and then she dumps him at the start of the very next game]]. While Larry did find his perfect match in Passionate Patti, she [[BrotherChuck disappeared from the series]] with little explanation after ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry5PassionatePattiDoesALittleUndercoverWork''.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Carol being TheOldestProfession was partially motivated by this. She had a deep dark secret that could destroy her life if it came out, and so she would find strong hunters, get them addicted to her, and make them struggle to pay her, before asking for information as ProBonoBarter. Everyone she slept with gave up their information eventually, proving they’re not someone that could be TheConfidant to her. But Akira ends up serving as that without sleeping with her, which makes Carol consider quitting prostitution.

A variation on this trope is the unlucky variation of SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan; the character ([[AlwaysFemale nearly always a woman]]) who is permanently on the lookout for Mr. (or, more rarely, Ms.) Right. Whilst she might settle for Mr. Right Now if things are particularly bleak on that front, she'll go into every relationship convinced that "this is The One!" — however, unfortunately for her, every relationship she engages in will result in {{hilarity ensu|es}}ing as every single man she dates either turns out to be a RomanticFalseLead, [[MinorFlawMajorBreakup has some small imperfection]] or otherwise turns out to be a [[BastardBoyfriend complete jerk]], thus leaving her right back where she started. It's often a complete waste of time anyway, since a bit of close self-examination would probably reveal — [[ObliviousToLove much to her shock]] — that she's in love with TheHero anyway.

* David Kruegel (a.k.a. Tekkaman Sommer) of ''Anime/TekkamanBlade II'' is hopelessly in love with his boss, Aki Kisaragi, who has been devoted to Tekkaman Blade since day one of the original series. He disguises/denies this by surrounding himself with the Space Knights' {{Wrench Wench}}es and BridgeBunnies, then taking all his evenings to the nearby bar and having frequent one night stands. Then he [[HoYay meets]] Dead End, who is [[UnsettlingGenderReveal really, really feminine]].

* ''ComicBook/UltimateVision'': Of all the women Sam could have fallen in love with, did he had to do it with a female alien robot?

* After being dumped by his girlfriend of seven years, Peter from ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'' has a series of meaningless one night stands in an effort to get over his ex.

** Series BigBad Joe Carrol falls under this in the first season when he honestly thinks he can convince his perfectly sane and normal wife Claire Matthews to reconcile their marriage after he is exposed as a SerialKiller, starts a murderous cult, plants cultist Emma Hill (herself an example as she ''also'' is attracted to Joe) as babysitter for their son Joey, has Emma ''kidnap'' Joey, and goes so far as to have another cultist murder women with Claire's ''name'' to get to her. Needless to say, he's delusional, and by the end, they are trying to kill each other.

* The entire ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' series is like this, with the second game even being subtitled "Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)". In the first game, Larry is just out to lose his virginity, but once he does so he finds it hollow realizes that what he really wants is love. As a result, each game in the series tends to have Larry pursuing every woman in sight in the hopes of finding Miss Right, only discovering her at the very end of the game...[[StatusQuoIsGod and then she dumps him at the start of the very next game]]. While Larry did find his perfect match in Passionate Patti, she [[BrotherChuck disappeared from the series]] with little explanation after ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry5PassionatePattiDoesALittleUndercoverWork''.

* Charlotte in ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' is all about this. While not really desperate, she has a string of bad boyfriends (and one husband), all because she's obsessed with settling down with a rich, handsome, tall man. She also has a weak spot for artists (she's an art dealer). [[spoiler: She settles for her bald and plump, but more or less nice and ''really'' good in bed divorce lawyer.]]

* The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Looking for Par'Mach in All The Wrong Places" references this. Ironically, this is the episode in which OfficialCouple Dax and Worf get together.
** And that one had a very strange LoveDodecahedron in it, with Worf lusting after the Klingon chick but eventually helping Quark woo her and Dax helping Worf help Quark and calling him out on not looking for someone more attainable (her).
*** Not to mention Kira and O'Brian feeling intimate whilst he was caring for her (Don't ask).
* The early seasons of ''Series/TheWestWing'' portray Donna as something like this.

* In ''Manga/AnatoliaStory'', [[HandsomeLech Prince Kail]] has had ''many'' relationships with women, however, none have been long-lasting. He has vowed to only take one legal wife, and since he's all but assured to be the next king, he wants to make sure that wife has the [[NiceGuy goodness]], [[TheSmartGuy intelligence]], and [[PluckyGirl inner strength]] to handle holding the second-most powerful position in the kingdom. [[spoiler:At one point, Princess Guzel tells Yuri that Kail never actually fell asleep with any of the women he slept with, herself included, implicitly because he wasn't able to let down his guard enough]]; therefore, the fact that [[spoiler: Kail is willing to sleep with Yuri in ''both'' senses (as in, have sex with her and stay the night) is a HUGE sign that [[LadykillerInLove she has the qualities he's been looking for]].]]

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A variation on this trope is the unlucky variation of SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan; the character ([[AlwaysFemale nearly always a woman]]) who is permanently on the lookout for Mr. (or, more rarely, Ms.) Right. Whilst she might settle for Mr. Right Now if things are particularly bleak on that front, she'll go into every relationship convinced that "this is The One!" — however, unfortunately for her every relationship she engages in will result in {{hilarity ensu|es}}ing as every single man she dates either turns out to be a RomanticFalseLead, [[MinorFlawMajorBreakup has some small imperfection]] or otherwise turns out to be a [[BastardBoyfriend complete jerk]], thus leaving her right back where she started. It's often a complete waste of time anyway, since a bit of close self-examination would probably reveal — [[ObliviousToLove much to her shock]] — that she's in love with TheHero anyway.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Chandler and Monica. Chandler tries humiliating hookups that never fulfill him or committing to women who cheat on him. Monica dates her [[MayDecemberRomance parents' best friend]], a millionaire and several jerks. They finally realize the love of their life is living across the hall and end up HappilyMarried. Jeez, it wasn't like they had to look far.

* With ''Series/TheLWord'''s Shane, it seems to be a toss-up between this and a benign lesbian TheCasanova, considering her 1000+ sexual conquests, propensity for one night stands, almost supernatural talent at seduction (e.g. while working at a wedding, managing to have sex with the mother and both sisters of the bride), compulsive cheating, and trail of broken hearts. The thing is, though, she's portrayed as an extremely caring person who gets laid so easily in part because of her empathy and has genuinely fallen in love a few times, only to inevitably sabotage those relationships with her impulsiveness and pathological commitment issues. Her [[DisappearedDad long-lost deadbeat dad]] gives her behavior a FreudianExcuse as well as a hint of InTheBlood when she finally meets him and learns that he's a huge womanizer too.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film — Animated]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

-->I was lookin' for love
-->In all the wrong places
-->Lookin' for love in too many faces
-->Searchin' their eyes, lookin' for traces
-->Of what I'm dreamin' of
-->Hopin' to find a friend and a lover
-->I'll bless the day I discover
-->Another heart lookin' for love

He's gone for good\\
\\

* Betty Meyer in ''VideoGame/LastWindow'' can be a bit of a flirt and asserts she can wrap men around her finger. She eventually [[spoiler:starts going out with [[TheRival Rex]]]], leading Kyle to confront her and her to eventually admit [[spoiler:she knows she's being used but is so lonely she doesn't care.]]

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* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'': Rosa Fiametta. She managed to wise up a bit, but that just made future searches for Mr/Miss Right even worse.
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Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places differs from TheCasanova in that the Casanova is a predator indulging his desires and sating himself with his conquests, while Looking For Love is desperately searching for someone who respects and cares for them. This does not mean that Looking For Love is necessarily clingy or "wimpy"; they can appear to be as aggressive and self-centered as TheCasanova, and the two can easily overlap.

* In ''Manga/AnatoliaStory'', [[HandsomeLech Prince Kail]] has had ''many'' relationships with women, however none have been long-lasting. He has vowed to only take one legal wife, and since he's all but assured to be the next king, he wants to make sure that wife has the [[NiceGuy goodness]], [[TheSmartGuy intelligence]], and [[PluckyGirl inner strength]] to handle holding the second-most powerful position in the kingdom. [[spoiler:At one point, Princess Guzel tells Yuri that Kail never actually fell asleep with any of the women he slept with, herself included, implicitly because he wasn't able to let down his guard enough]]; therefore, the fact that [[spoiler: Kail is willing to sleep with Yuri in ''both'' senses (as in, have sex with her and stay the night) is a HUGE sign that [[LadykillerInLove she has the qualities he's been looking for]].]]

* ''Manga/TheWallflower'': Main character Sunako's aunt. Most every time one of her relationships is the main plot, it won't end up working out. She managed to find and marry a good man, her 'darling', in her backstory, but unfortunately he passed away. It's noted she was lucky to find him, given she has no judgment when it comes to men.

* In ''Literature/ApparatusInfernum'', Mikani has a long list of ex-girlfriends, none of whom lasted very long and almost all of whom are now on bad terms with him. His developing relationship with Ritsuko is a break from the pattern, and is considerably more solid even though it hasn't actually gone nearly as far.

* Jimmy of ''Literature/OryxAndCrake'' clearly thinks of himself as this. As we find out in the companion novel ''Literature/TheYearOfTheFlood'', his lovers see him as more TheCasanova.

** Series BigBad Joe Carrol falls under this in the first season when he honestly thinks he can convince his perfectly sane and normal wife Claire Matthews to reconcile their marriage after he is exposed as a SerialKiller, starts a murderous cult, plants cultist Emma Hill (herself an example as she ''also'' is attracted to Joe) as babysitter for their son Joey, has Emma ''kidnap'' Joey, and goes so far as to have another cultist murder women with Claire's ''name'' to get to her. Needless to say, he's delusional, and by the end they are trying to kill each other.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Chandler and Monica. Chandler tries humiliating hook ups that never fufill him, or committing to women who cheat on him. Monica dates her [[MayDecemberRomance parents' best friend]], a millionaire and several jerks. They finally realize the love of their life is living across the hall and end up HappilyMarried. Jeez, it wasn't like they had to look far.

* Ted from ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. Especially for the viewer, who already knows where he'll find his true love. Robin herself points this out to Ted. He chased her when he knew she was the wrong woman for Ted (didn't want kids, apprehensive of marriage, etc) and continued to harbor feelings for her even after their amicable breakup. He pursued Stella who was still in love with the father of her child. He went after Zoey who was married at the time and actively trying to destroy his career. His poor judgement gets called on several times by other characters.

* With ''Series/TheLWord'''s Shane, it seems to be a toss-up between this and a benign lesbian TheCasanova, considering her 1000+ sexual conquests, propensity for one night stands, almost supernatural talent at seduction (e.g. while working at a wedding, managing to have sex with the mother and both sisters of the bride), compulsive cheating, and trail of broken hearts. The thing is, though, she's portrayed as an extremely caring person who gets laid so easily in part because of her empathy, and has genuinely fallen in love a few times, only to inevitably sabotage those relationships with her impulsiveness and pathological commitment issues. Her [[DisappearedDad long-lost deadbeat dad]] gives her behavior a FreudianExcuse as well as a hint of InTheBlood when she finally meets him and learns that he's a huge womanizer too.

* The Survivor song "The Search Is Over" is about this trope. At the end, the guy realizes that the perfect girl for him has been there [[ChildhoodFriendRomance all along]].

* The entire ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' series is like this, with the second game even being subtitled "Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)". In the first game Larry is just out to lose his virginity, but once he does so he finds it hollow realizes that what he really wants is love. As a result, each game in the series tends to have Larry pursuing every woman in sight in the hopes of finding Miss Right, only discovering her at the very end of the game...[[StatusQuoIsGod and then she dumps him at the start of the very next game]]. While Larry did find his perfect match in Passionate Patti, she [[BrotherChuck disappeared from the series]] with little explanation after ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry5PassionatePattiDoesALittleUndercoverWork''.

* ''Literature/AuroraCycle'': Scarlett Jones has at ''least'' 48 ex-boyfriends. Each one mentioned is also mentioned with a pro and a con, the latter being indicated as the reason why she dumped that particular individual.

A variation on this trope is the unlucky variation of SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan; the character ([[AlwaysFemale nearly always a woman]]) who is permanently on the lookout for Mr. (or, more rarely, Ms.) Right. Whilst she might settle for Mr. Right Now if things are particularly bleak on that front, she'll go into every relationship convinced that "this is The One!" -- however, unfortunately for her every relationship she engages in will result in {{hilarity ensu|es}}ing as every single man she dates either turns out to be a RomanticFalseLead, [[MinorFlawMajorBreakup has some small imperfection]] or otherwise turns out to be a [[BastardBoyfriend complete jerk]], thus leaving her right back where she started. It's often a complete waste of time anyway, since a bit of close self-examination would probably reveal -- [[ObliviousToLove much to her shock]] -- that she's in love with TheHero anyway.

See also CasanovaWannabe -- the two character types complement each other. Compare LadykillerInLove.

* ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle'': While the Miyazaki adaptation doesn't play up Howl's TheCasanova tendencies quite as much as in the book, it's more heavily implied that [[spoiler:his inability to take things like romance seriously is because he removed his heart as a child, and it was thus never able to grow and mature]].

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character in ''Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer''.
* Diane Keaton's character in ''Film/LookingForMrGoodbar'', which is BasedOnATrueStory.
* In ''Film/SinTakesAHoliday'', Stanton doesn't want to be held down by any woman, and [[MakesSenseInContext even gets married to escape]] a crazy girl.
* After being dumped by his girlfriend of seven years, Peter from ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'' has a series of meaningless one night stands in an effort to get over his ex.

* Diana Gabaldon's ''Literature/{{Outlander}}'': Lord John. [[TheWoobie The author just won't leave this man alone.]]
** Lord John gets his own series, and ''still'' he doesn't find a lasting relationship.

* In ''Literature/ApparatusInfernum'', Mikani has a long list of ex-girlfriends, none of whom lasted very long and almost all of whom are now on bad terms with him. His developing relationship with Ritsuko is a break from the pattern, and is considerably more solid even though it hasn't actually gone nearly as far.

* Dan Fielding from "Series/NightCourt", whose TheCasanova reputation was revealed to be a desperate desire not to die alone.

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