Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dark drama based on real-life case with violence, drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In POISONED LOVE: THE STACEY CASTOR STORY, Stacey (Nia Vardalos) is widowed with two teen daughters. When she marries her boss David (Mike Dopud), the family moves into his house, where harmony breaks down quickly. Rebellious older daughter Ashley (Chanelle Peloso) disrespects him and rages against his rules and temper. He rages back, hitting the youngest daughter Bree (Genea Charpentier) in the head with a glass. The women move out and only days later David turns up dead in his bed, having ingested anti-freeze, which is a particularly gruesome way to die. A note suggests David took his own life. But a skeptical cop looks further and finds Stacey's previous husband, who'd died six years before, was also a supposed suicide. As the police assemble a case against Stacey, she implicates her daughter in the more recent murder and then makes it look as if the daughter also tried to commit suicide. A trial ensues.
Is It Any Good?
This is a typical, step-by-step, "ripped-from-the-headlines" TV drama about the truly bizarre behavior of someone who seemed to have no capacity for remorse. Vardalos is solid as a seemingly loving person who is then revealed to be cold-blooded and calculating, even with regard to the welfare of her own child. As Stacey says in her own defense, being convicted doesn't mean she actually committed the crime and she maintained that position until her death in prison at age 48 in 2016.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Stacey initially portrays herself as a good mom and grieving widow. Were there early warning signs that her behavior was unhealthy?
If you had been on the jury, would you have convicted Stacey? Why or why not? What evidence would have convinced you or made you skeptical of the charges?
What do you think makes people blame others for their own actions?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : February 1, 2020
- Cast : Nia Vardalos , Mike Dopud , Chanelle Peloso
- Director : Jim Donovan
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Gay Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Lifetime
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Family Stories ( Moms )
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : May 22, 2026
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