Songfacts®:

• This bonus track from the Deluxe edition of Taylor Swift's third studio album Speak Now was released as a promotional single for digital download to iTunes and Amazon on November 8, 2011. Taylor wrote the song with Martin Johnson, who is lead singer of Boys Like Girls. Previous collaborations between the pair include "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home " from the soundtrack of Hannah Montana: The Movie and the Boys Like Girls single "Two Is Better Than One."
• Here, Taylor Swift daydreams of her lost love's return, just like they do in romantic movies. The lyrics reference many classic movie tropes, such as Swift's lover waiting in the rain for her, a flashback to carefree times together, and a happy ending.
• You would, you would if this was a movie
  Stand in the rain outside 'til I came out
  
  The chorus parallels Swift's 2008 Fearless track "Breathe" where she sings:
  
  Music starts playin' like the end of a sad movie,
  It's the kinda ending you don't really wanna see
  
  And also Swift's 2021 Fearless (Taylor's Version) cut, "Bye Bye Baby":
  
  It wasn't just like a movie
  The rain didn't soak through my clothes, down to my skin
  I'm drivin' away and I, I guess you could say
• Some grammar pedants complained about the title, believing Swift should have named the song "If This Were A Movie." In traditional grammar, the use of "were" in the subjunctive mood is the correct form to use when expressing a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact condition, but in modern usage, "was" is often used in informal settings instead of "were," and is generally acceptable. We're assuming Swift knew this, since she was a straight-A student.
  
  The more formal "were" shows up in songs like "If I Were A Carpenter" and "If I Were Your Woman" that carry some gravity. Beyoncé, too, on "If I Were a Boy." The "was" form can be heard on "If I Was a Folkstar" by The Avalanches, "If I Was A Cowboy" by Miranda Lambert, and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" by Prince, who seemed to transcend the rules of grammar.
• "If This Was A Movie" was the only song on the deluxe edition of Speak Now to feature a co-writer.