History Main / EverythingButTheGirl

* This is what triggers Hal's FaceHeelTurn as "Titan" in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''; he only agreed to the premise of becoming a superhero on the assumption that, as Metro City's newest protector, [[IntrepidReporter Roxanne]] would [[EntitledToHaveYou have to fall for him]], and [[PsychopathicManchild when he]] [[AxCrazy found that]] [[IfICantHaveYou this wasn't]] [[{{Yandere}} the case]]...

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls:'' the first episode establishes that Mabel wants an "epic summer romance," while Dipper the show crushing on Wendy. At the end of the series, neither has really succeeded. Given the ComingOfAgeStory, the point is probably that neither of them is really ready for romance anyway.

** Robert Baratheon went to war against the Mad King to rescue his beloved Lyanna Stark (among other reasons). When the dust finally settled, Robert has become king and commanded all of the Seven Kingdoms, but Lyanna died regardless. He makes it no secret that he is bitter about winning a crown he never wanted and [[TheLostLenore losing a girl he did]], going so far as to say that the man who kidnapped her (whom Robert killed in a battlefield duel) won by joining Lyanna in death. In an interesting twist, it's made increasingly clear that while Robert may or may not have "loved" Lyanna, he never really ''[[LovingAShadow knew]]'' her, and their potential married life would likely have been unhappy.
** In a more twisted example, resident [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] Petyr Baelish rose from a poor lord laughed at by everyone to an incredibly influential politician with all the wealth he could want, but not the girl he [[StalkerWithACrush was interested in]] when he was fifteen [[spoiler: who's now dead, although he's acquired a ReplacementGoldfish in the form of her (barely) teenage daughter Sansa.]]

* The plot of the short film [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao&hd=1 Validation]], in which the hero tries everything to get through to his love interest, to no avail. When he finally gives up, things take an unexpected turn...
* In ''Film/TheTerminal'', Viktor manages to complete his father's lifelong quest to get the autograph of every jazz musician featured in the ''A Great Day in Harlem'' photograph, and can finally return to his home country. However, his love interest gets back together with the married man she's been having an affair with.

* The song "I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', any PC that romances [[spoiler: Morrigan]] throughout the game will [[LoveHurts eventually end up experiencing this trope.]] If you survive the final battle, you will have wealth, fame, and respect -- everything, except for [[spoiler: Morrigan. However, this is then subverted by the DLC campaign ''Witch Hunt'', which takes place a few years later and allows the PC and Morrigan to reunite.]]

* This is one of the twists to the ending of ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay''. [[spoiler:And he doesn't even want the crown.]]

* In the story of VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics, this is the fate that befalls [[spoiler: Delita]], the clearest winner of the convoluted plots and stacked betrayals. In the process of becoming king despite being a commoner, he manages to backstab and betray so many people that [[spoiler:his queen Ovelia, who is probably the only person who he knows is alive that he cares about, feels she was just one more part of his manipulations, tries to kill him and gets killed by him defending himself on instinct. He is left holding her body, wondering what the point of all his plotting was and if this all that it amounted to.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls:'' the first episode establishes that Mabel wants an "epic summer romance," while Dipper the show crushing on Wendy. At the end of the series, neither has really succeeded. Given the ComingOfAgeStory, the point is probably that neither of them is really ready for romance anyway.

* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', making someone fall in love is one of the few things the Genie can't do.

This is a subtrope of SweetAndSourGrapes. Contrast CartwrightCurse and DidNotGetTheGirl. Nothing to do with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_but_the_Girl the English band from the 1980s and 1990s.]]

Love is a common motivation for both heroes and villains - whether it's LoveMakesYouEvil or ThePowerOfLove, it serves as the driving force for a wide range of plotlines. When writers want to have someone victorious but make their victory bittersweet, then, it's common for them to have them succeed at everything they wanted ''except'' the love they originally pursued. In most cases, this poisons their victory; they may become a loveless billionaire, or a despondent tyrant.

[[folder: Comics]]

[[folder: Films -- Animated ]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

* In the original ''Film/{{Bedazzled 1967}}'', the hero's deal with the devil spectacularly fails to get him the girl of his dreams at least five times. It's only after he gets out of the deal that he can go back to being an innocent short-order cook and win her himself. In TheRemake of 2000, he ends up with a different girl than the one he was trying to get with his wishes. [[note]]Since both girls are played by the same actress, presumably we're intended to believe that on some level he ''did'' actually get the girl of his dreams. Well, that, and that the second girl reveals (in the mere minutes she's seen) that her tastes are almost identical to his, as well as her quirky sense of humor.[[/note]]

* The movie ''Film/OtherPeoplesMoney'' ended on a bittersweet note, as Larry had to live with the fact that being the best at what he does, and staying true to his unorthodox but sincere sense of ethics, had brought him resounding success as always, but at the same time driven away his love interest. It's an unusual and thoughtful way to leave off. It should be noted, however [[spoiler:that the final scene of the film re-opens the possibility of them getting together, and in the original play, it is explicit that they eventually marry and have children]].

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

--> '''Angel:''' But she's not finished baking yet! I gotta wait till she's done baking! You know, till she finds herself, 'cause that's the drill, fine, I'm waitin' patiently and meanwhile, '''THE IMMORTAL'S EATING COOKIE DOUGH!'''
--> '''Andrew:''' Uhhh, Spike, is Angel crying?
--> '''Spike:''' No! ''(in the same defiant tone)'' Not yet!

[[folder: Music ]]

* The theme of Music/NeYo's 2010 album ''Libra Scale'' is that after having saved the city, he's awarded fame, money and power but at the cost of never being able to fall in love. Not a problem until he actually falls in love with somebody.

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', any PC that romances [[spoiler: Morrigan]] throughout the game will [[LoveHurts eventually end up experiencing this trope.]] If you survive the final battle, you will have wealth, fame and respect -- everything, except for [[spoiler: Morrigan. However, this is then subverted by the DLC campaign ''Witch Hunt'', which takes place a few years later and allows the PC and Morrigan to reunite.]]

* In the story of VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics, this is the fate that befalls [[spoiler: Delita]], the clearest winner of the convoluted plots and stacked betrayals. In the process of becoming king despite being a commoner he manages to backstab and betray so many people that [[spoiler:his queen Ovelia, who is probably the only person who he knows is alive that he cares about, feels she was just one more part of his manipulations, tries to kill him and gets killed by him defending himself on instinct. He is left holding her body, wondering what the point of all his plotting was and if this all that it amounted to.]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog''. Minus the helping people, he's the IneffectualSympatheticVillain. Dr. Horrible (or Billy) wants to join the [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Evil League of Evil]] to gain power from what he sees as a corrupt society, make the world a better place, and win Penny's heart by doing so. However, to earn his way into the League he has to kill someone [[spoiler:and tragically, Penny winds up dead. Billy finally gets to join, but says he doesn't "feel a thing" anymore, and all the power and respect he's fought for is hollow]].

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder:Audio Play]]
* ''Kankinkon'' has Touji Saijou, one of the {{Villain Protagonist}}s, have literally ''everything'', including the girl and a child by her. He gets out from under the thumb of his abusive grandfather, usurps his role as the patriarch, and enjoys a lavish lifestyle, but he spends the rest of his life lapping at the feet of his wife because she will only ever show cold indifference or pity to him. To be fair, this is to be expected after he raped her and deceived the rest of the civilized world into thinking it was a proper courtship, just after she got out of high school--and he full well knows he deserves this treatment.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comics ]]

* Dream from ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' is the God of his realm, but when he fell in love with a mortal woman, their forbidden love destroyed her city. Fearing worse things, the girl denied him (thrice?) until he [[WhatTheHellHero sent her to Hell. As you do.]]
* In a comic where they meet for the first or the nearly first time, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica [[SherlockScan evaluates]] [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Spider-Man]] and concludes that the kid is serious about what he's doing. He didn't sign up to impress the girls. Spidey tells him that the girls he knows would need ''way'' more to be impressed.

* In Disney's ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', making someone fall in love is one of the few things the Genie can't do.

** Robert Baratheon went to war against the Mad King to rescue his beloved Lyanna Stark (among other reasons). When the dust finally settled, Robert has become king and commanded all of the Seven Kingdoms, but Lyanna died regardless. He makes it no secret that he is bitter about winning a crown he never wanted and [[TheLostLenore losing a girl he did]], going so far as to say that the man who kidnapped her (who Robert killed in a battlefield duel) won by joining Lyanna in death. In an interesting twist, it's made increasingly clear that while Robert may or may not have "loved" Lyanna, he never really ''[[LovingAShadow knew]]'' her, and their potential married life would likely have been unhappy.

In RomanticComedy, [[SuperheroOrigin gaining a superpower]] isn't a CallToAdventure; it's a way to get girls.

After a few amusing incidents while the male lead gets used to his new power, he uses it to get fame, wealth, and women; everything but the girl he truly loves. Try as he might, no use of his power can win her heart.

Eventually, he gives up on her and, perhaps after a session of despair, starts using his power to help people, which wins the girl's heart. The lead loses his powers but gets the girl, true love triumphant.

This is a subtrope of SweetAndSourGrapes. Compare with ComesGreatResponsibility; contrast CartwrightCurse and DidNotGetTheGirl. Nothing to do with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_but_the_Girl the English band from the 1980s and 1990s.]]

* Possibly one of the most [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments touching]] [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic musical]] examples: "[[TearJerker Man of the World]]" by [[TheWoobie Peter]] [[Music/FleetwoodMac Green]].

* In ''Series/{{Merlin}}'', Lancelot eventually realizes his life-long dream of becoming a knight of Camelot, only to regret his decision to leave Guinevere at a point in which there was nothing standing in the way of a relationship with her - nothing except the realization that Arthur was in love with her as well.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', any PC that romances [[spoiler: Morrigan]] throughout the game will [[LoveHurts eventually end up experiencing this trope.]] If you survive the final battle, you will have wealth, fame and respect � everything, except for [[spoiler: Morrigan. However, this is then subverted by the DLC campaign ''Witch Hunt'', which takes place a few years later and allows the PC and Morrigan to reunite.]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

[[AC:Films -- Animated]]

[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', any PC that romances [[spoiler: Morrigan]] throughout the game will [[LoveHurts eventually end up experiencing this trope.]] If you survive the final battle, you will have wealth, fame and respect — everything, except for [[spoiler: Morrigan. However, this is then subverted by the DLC campaign ''Witch Hunt'', which takes place a few years later and allows the PC and Morrigan to reunite.]]

[[AC:WebOriginal]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', any PC that romances [[spoiler: Morrigan]] throughout the game will [[LoveHurts eventually end up experiencing this trope.]] If you survive the final battle, you will have wealth, fame and respect — everything, except for [[spoiler: Morrigan]].

* In a somewhat similar case, this is subverted in ''Literature/SoonIWillBeInvincible'', insofar as [[spoiler:getting the girl is the only thing Dr. Impossible ''does'' manage to succeed at]]... although he doesn't realize it.

** Amusingly inverted in the episode featuring Norm the Magic Genie, whose wishes ''can'' affect love, but Timmy words the wish just wrong and every other "Timothy Turner" in the world also gets Trixie's love.

** Robert Baratheon went to war against the Mad King to rescue his beloved Lyanna Stark (among other reasons). When the dust finally settled, Robert has become king and commanded all of the Seven Kingdoms, but Lyanna died regardless. He makes it no secret that he is bitter about winning a crown he never wanted and [[TheLostLenore losing a girl he did]], going so far as to say that the man who kidnapped her (who Robert killed in a battlefield duel) won by joining Lyanna in death. In an interesting twist, it's made increasingly clear that while Robert may or may not have "loved" Lyanna, he never really ''knew'' her, and their potential married life would likely have been unhappy.

* The movie ''Film/OtherPeoplesMoney'' ended on a bittersweet note, as Larry had to live with the fact that being the best at what he does, and staying true to his unorthodox but sincere sense of ethics, had brought him resounding success as always, but at the same time driven away his love interest. It's an unusual and thoughtful way to leave off. It should be noted, however [[spoiler:that the last lines of the film imply that Larry and Kate will end up together, and in the original play, it is explicit that they eventually marry and have children]].

** Magic can never interfere with true love, so Timmy still hadn't gotten Trixie to fall for him.

* The original Creator/{{Rankin Bass|Productions}} ''JackFrost'' special falls neatly into this trope as a very literal example.

->''Fortune has me well in hand, armies 'wait my command''\\

''But all the victories I've led haven't brought you to my bed''

This is a subtrope of SweetAndSourGrapes. Compare with ComesGreatResponsibility; contrast Cartwright Curse and DidNotGetTheGirl. Nothing to do with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_but_the_Girl the English band from the 1980s and 1990s.]]