Gregory Hines plays the ex-convict son of a famed tap-dancer. Taking over his late father's Harlem dance studio, Hines can't shake memories of his childhood, when he was being touted as a dancing prodigy. Challenged to fulfill his destiny by his dad's old cronies--among them such terpsichorean giants as Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Condos, Jimmy Slyde and Harold Nicholas--Hines does his best to avoid lapsing back into a life of crime. The struggle to save Hines' soul is a titanic one, with Hines' girlfriend Suzzanne Douglas tugging at him from one direction and his old burglary partner Joe Morton yanking from the other. The plotline of Tap is merely an excuse to show off some of the most dazzling footwork ever recorded on film. The director is Nick Castle Jr., who like star Gregory Hines is scion of a legendary dancing family.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide