I just rewatched this. I'd compare it to a Hank Williams sr. song but in reverse. His music was super basic but his lyrics were great. Where as in To Live and Die in LA - the dialogue is super basic and even groanworthy in places - but the set piece scenes are fantastic. The chase scene after they screw up the FBI bust is fantastic. The chase to capture John Turturo in the airport is great.
Male to female nudity ratio is skewed a bit heavy toward male nudity. The actress who plays Willem Dafoe's girlfriend and the actress who played on Frasier are Bob Guccione-level fantasy material:
"I am counterfeiter in a west coast city and i never thought I'd be writing a letter to your magazine, but. . . "
The ending is a thinker.
Narratively...is the main character Dafoe or Peterson? Which is more sympathetic? Or is it Pankow who is the one actually on the Campbell-esque "hero's journey"?